


The Orchard

by Shikkearu



Series: The Orchard [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, F/M, Fairies, For sexy times go to end of chapter three, I'm the same, Mentions of Rape, Mutilation, Sex, Violence, Well not really, Zoro is just visiting, and about mid of chapter 4, if youre not in it for the plot which makes me sad but alright, just mihi being jealous, so no triangle here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:26:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shikkearu/pseuds/Shikkearu
Summary: Man saves a fairy from a fate worse than death. Bound by the dept of gratitude she forces him to take care of her until it is paid. But her curiosity is insatiable and her stay gets longer than it should.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peronas wings are based on Plebeius nicias.

The outskirts of a thick meadow, an ancient forest so unruly no human had set foot in it's deepest parts for years maybe never. She had gone past the traps and obstacles her people had set. She wasn't supposed to, but her never satiable curiosity got the better of her and she had kept going. She had to see for her own eyes the creatures they set these traps for. It was funny how the forest unnaturally grew less thick the closer to the edge she went. Maybe the stories were real after all. She was being careful of course, but she was slightly too bold as well. How could the silly humans ever spot a tiny thing like her. She was a fairy, capable of shrinking as tiny as a butterfly and be as big as a great grey bear. And now she was small and full of herself. She didn't believe that a human could capture her. How could they when they were incapable of passing their traps and barriers. She had heard the old woman tales of men with nets made of iron and cutting of wings, but she was still young and thought herself invincible. She was fast, beautiful and strong. The other fairies had a hard time keeping up with her, so what could a clumsy human do to her. She laughed loudly by herself, but heard an abrupt sound.

She quickly hid herself clasping her wings shut only showing the pale white outside, that no-one ever seemed to notice, so eye catching was the purplish blue of the inside of her wings.

There was a camp with two humans. They were chattering and eating something. This is exactly what she had come for. To actually see those humans with her own eyes and maybe even steal something of theirs to show to the others. She kept herself hidden and spied on the two, silently giggling by herself every once in awhile. They started to pack and as they were leaving the other dropped a small pouch by mistake. The little fairy waited for them to be out of sight and then went by the pouch. She pulled it under some bushes and with gleaming eyes looked inside. It was filled with sweet smelling dough balls. The smell was so intoxicating that she couldn't help herself and gave one a taste. But just as she had swallowed it, she felt her stomach turn and suddenly she started to grow in size. She was shocked. Nothing should affect her this way.

But her amazement was short lived as the two humans leaped on her. They pushed her on her back and she tried to struggle, but her growth was violent and straining. Soon the other poured something sour in her mouth and as she gagged by mistake she swallowed some of it and her growth stopped. The fairy was now the same size as them and had she turned voluntarily she would have been stronger than the two combined. But she was exhausted by her forced morph and the humans were relentless with their assault shouting instructions to each other. They pulled her on her knees and the other took a firm grip on her hand and long beautiful pink hair.

\- "What an idiot! To first give away it's location and then fell to such a common trick."

The fairy tried to fight back, but he tightened his hold making her squeal in pain.

\- "Careful! You'll damage the goods." The other hissed as he pulled a knife from his pocket.  
\- "Hair will grow back and bruises fade, you're the one who should be careful!" The other growled back.

Before she could even begin to guess what they had said, the man with a knife took a hold at the root of her other wing. She could see the flash of iron and she screeched in horror to what was going to happen. She felt the blade fall against her shoulder, iron burning her skin, a pain that could only be described as excruciating. Something warm splashed against her back and a gut wrenching scream filled her ears as the man held his arm blood spilling out and right next to her was his hand still holding the knife. The other assailant loosened their grab and she looked at him only to see his body mid fall and the head neatly cut off rolling away. She turned to look behind her. There stood a man glad in dark armour, cloak and hat. His face was emotionless, but eyes burned with wrath. He swung a heavy black blade and thus the other was silenced for good.

She quickly crawled and tried to get away. She couldn't make a sound so filled with terror she was.

\- "Stop your crawling, I mean you no harm." His voice was low and calm.

She stared at him quivering and after reading his body language to be non offensive towards her she slightly relaxed feeling her shoulder still burn with pain, but she did not care for it. She looked at her wing, but could not see it well. Only that the root was covered with blood. She couldn't discern from her shoulder pain if her back had been hit as well. The man knelt beside her and she moved away from him. He sighed and stood up. He pulled any weapon he had on him and threw them away. She looked at him still cautious, but the gesture calmed her slightly.

\- " _Wing. I look._ " He said with old fae and she nodded turning her back to him.

She watched as he first checked her wing. He took a rag from his pouch wiping some off the blood off. After giving it a proper examination, he gently petted the root of her wing to let her know it was fine and then he looked at her shoulder where the blade had hit her leaving a burn mark. He took a small glass jar from his pouch and put cream like substance on the wound making her flinch away.

-  _"Medicine."_

She calmed once more and let him treat her. She felt the pain subside enough, so she could think clearly. Once he was done and had backed away, she rose and fluttered her wings. The blue inside with black and white rims shone in the sunlight. She closed them to show the ghostly white with grey dots. They were quite showy so it was no wonder if they wanted to take them from her.

-  _"Thank you. They would have taken my wings if not for you."_ She turned to her saviour smiling brightly, but he looked back at her sternly.

-  _"Stupid girl! Elders not warn you? Humans take more than wings."_ His fae was broken and bad, but he got his point across.

She was horrified by his reactions. What a cruel man could he not understand that she had just been in great peril and was shaken by it? She tried to turn back small, but her her body fought back. She was stuck.

-  _"Girl normal, probably two hours."_ He started to gather his equipment and checked the bodies for more poisons and any valuables. He shook his head and spat on the two. He started a fire and threw all the fairy catching equipment in it. She looked at them burn happily. The sweet poisons made the flames momentarily green and purple. The man threw sand over the fire putting it out.

- _"Go home."_

- _"I can't! With my body this big I can't hide and the poison has still made me weak."_ The fairy huffed and grabbed his arm.  _"See through what you started!"_

The man just shook her off and with long steps he left to where he came from. She ran after him. She was angry and wouldn't let him off her sight. What if a bear or more humans attacked her? She was defenseless for two hours. Soon he was by a large bay horse that seemed slightly spooked by her. He made the saddle secure and and turned to the fairy. She was out of breath and fuming. "What a stubborn girl," he thought and warned her again: 

 _\- "Go home!"_  
- _"No, I am helpless like this. You need to take care of me until I'm fine! And I'm bound to you by debt of gratitude!"_  
- _"No, home now."_ The debt was annoying. Every single time he had to fight the fairies he saved. They owed him nothing. She didn't even look like she could do anything for him at all.  
- _"I have to repay you!"_ She pouted her cheeks big and full.  
- _"How?"_

She was silent her finger over her mouth. She wasn't that capable in anything actually. And she definitely didn't want to give bodily pleasure to a human. No matter how handsome it was and this one was very handsome. His face was handsome, his beard trimmed peculiarly and body seemed strong and he was naturally tall making the large horse seem smaller than it really was. And those eyes were other worldly, like that of a hawk. Eyes like hawk's? She couldn't quite recall, but it sounded weirdly familiar like it had been in an old woman's tale.

She shook her head, but looked at him determined.

- _"Dept is a dept and I will pay."_

He sighed and took off his cloak covering her with it. He also put his hat on her head to cover her hair. It was an unnatural colour for a human and would draw attention if they passed by someone. He lifted her effortlessly on the horse and soon they were on their way out of the forest. On the gravel road he prompted the horse into a steady canter. She clutched to his chest, holding on to the slightly too big hat. She had rode a bird once and a mouse, but never a horse and she was terrified of falling, but the man firmly held her by the waist to keep her on the horse.

- _"Why are we going out of the forest?"_ She was scared. She only had wanted to be safe and the dept system seemed like a good thing to fall back to, but she didn't think he would take her out of the forest.  
- _"Center not for humans, many dead traps."_ His voice strained a little. He didn't usually talk fae so much with the fairies he saved, they usually stayed silent, so it was hard for him and straining to remember all the words and understand what she had said.  
- _"Deadly."_

He burrowed his brow at her correction. She was annoying.

She looked at the fields and little houses. It was all completely different to back home. The fairies we're usually small in size so of course everything was so different at this scale. The plants she would usually hide under for the rain to stop were so small she could barely see them from the speed. And she had never been to an open field like this. Usually she could see the edge of the forest, but here it was fields and out way in the distance she could see a group of human buildings. They turned from road to another until they were on a road leading to an unruly orchard. It was over grown and wild. She liked it, made her want to go there straight away and help the trees get better.

- _"Ugly, keeps visitors away."_

She pouted. Almost like he had heard her thoughts. Maybe he was used to dealing with fairies, because no fairy could resist such a garden. They were at a gate of a villa over grown with vines. She had never seen anything so big. She had heard stories of ancient kings in their castles that touched the sky. This huge building was taller than any other man made thing she had seen. Surely this man must be a king.

-  _"Are you a king?"_  
-  _"Small for a king."_    
  
His joke sounded worn. How many times had he seen the same gaping mouth and look of wonder? How many others had there been before her?

He dropped from the saddle and helped her down and guided her inside. They went to a big room with sofas and a fireplace. It was mid summer, but the house was cool even if it was hot outside. So looked at the beautiful furniture, wall clothes, paintings. Everywhere she could look was a new thing to wonder and marvel at. The human art was so different from theirs. The art fairies did was always related somehow to nature, but humans seemed to like more abstract things and other humans. Maybe she just didn't know how to appreciate the art of her people as well because she always saw it everywhere. She will when she returns. If she returns.

She sat on the sofa and he looked at her calculating and then left to another room. She realized that she had left herself completely at his mercy. She didn't know the way back well and it would be hard to go unnoticed on such open fields. She tried turning small again, but still could not.

He came back with a sheet of fabric and sewing kit.

-  _"Not prepared. No clothes that fit. Can you sew?"_

She shook her head nervously. She really wasn't good at anything useful other than her ability to mold plants. He took a measuring tape and made her stood up taking off the cloak. He quickly took her measurements and wrote them down. He prompted her to cover herself again. She didn't do it. It was uncomfortable for her wings and no one was there anyway. Or at least she thought so. He sighed and lifted the cape over her breasts.

- _"Cover body. It's cold."_

She pouted, but didn't question him. Fairies were only awake during the warm months so most of the time they were in very little clothing and they lived so close to each other there was no shame in revealing ones body. But she looked at the man who had taken most of his clothes off now and yet he was still fully covered. She remembered that the men in the forest had very covering clothes too. Maybe humans were ashamed of their looks?

The man rose and went to take his notes away. When he was returning a floor board creaked, which spooked her and she bounced up ready to morph. But he let out an alarmed sound, holding his arm out to have her stop from even trying.

- _"Don't morph. Pain."_ He pressed his shoulder at the spot where her wound was.

She felt the burn on her shoulder and nodded back at him finally introducing herself.

 _\- "I am Perona. What is your name?"_  
- _"_ Dracule Mihawk.  _Stay here till healed then back home._ _"_

Mihawk took her to the bathroom and told her to wait. She sat on a stool clutching onto the cape looking around the room as he carried warm water into the tub. When he was done he showed her some dried herbs making sure she knew what they were, before putting them in the warm water. He took his cape and hat back and prompted her to go in the water. It was warm and the smell that the herbs were making calmed her. She sat in the water trying to figure out what she would do to pay off her dept before he might think it would be just better to finish what the men had started. When he came back to the room her eyes shot at him and he lifted his arms to show he had brought her towels and nothing else. When certain he wasn't going to do anything she scratched her back feeling the dried up blood of the dead man. She looked at the blood on her fingers and retched. She dipped her back and wings into the water even if she hated the feel of it and tried scratching of the blood, leaving red sores on her skin.

_\- "Let me."_

She looked at him suspicious of his intent, but he hadn't hurt her so far so maybe he wouldn't now. She nodded, but kept looking at him. With a scoop he started to pour the water on her back carefully rubbing it with his fingers to loosen the blood. His movements were confident, almost like he had done this several times already. When he was done with her back he left the rest to her leaving the room. She was careful not to touch her shoulder that was stinging and felt hot. Like the iron was still pressed against her skin. When done she took one of the towels he had left and quickly dried herself.

He returned with some fresh water to rinse off the herbs, but seeing that she had dried herself already he didn't bother forcing her to do it. Instead he quickly ran off and returned with a piece of rag. He offered it to her and she looked at the thing. It was a crudely sewn dress that would attach around her neck, leaving enough room for her wings to flutter. She was just about to morph small again to avoid putting on the horrid piece, but he held his shoulder again to remind her of the pain. She huffed and put on the garment.

He showed her the house. It wasn't such a huge place after all, just seemed like it at first. It was big for one person to live in and had accommodations for two servants to live in permanent. He gave her the luxurious guest room which she looked around before emptying and sitting inside a closet. He sighed and took a blanket and a pillow from the bed for her to have in the closet.  It was always crammed in their tree houses and dug in winter holes, so the openness of the bed slightly scared her. She missed the company of others. It was lonely to move from such close-knit community to an open space.

She would go back some day, but right now she was curious of the human world.

She forced Mihawk to explain every new item to her. He was annoyed at first, but then his face lit up and he took long strides to his library. There he took a worn book which he kept looking at all the time, but somehow it made him faster and more understandable so she let him. He showed her the library where she would spend most of the day time since it was upstairs and not meant for casual visitors. He took a big stack of colourful books full of pictures, said they were for children to read. She didn't really care for some human amusements, but the pictures were pretty and it could be fun to guess how the stories go.

When she had finally bored him with her questions, Mihawk prepared a simple dinner for them.

She had never tasted food quite like that, it was weird. Flavors she had never known could exist. He called it simple flavoring done with spices. It was an invention by the eastern fairies, he told her so "spice" was actually borrowed fae. The idea of other fairies around the world was amazing. He showed her maps and books with pictures. All her life she had lived in that ancient forest and in just a day her world view was changed entirely. She wondered if she could go back now that she knew of these things and that there were still many things she did not know about. It felt suffocating.

When darkness fell she was allowed to go outside and she rushed to the old apple trees. With gentle touch she listened to the story of those trees. The knowledge these trees held was vast and hard to read. It had been long since a fairy had touched them maybe they had never been touched by one. She started to mend one, make it shake all those old branches and be rid of the dead ones. She helped heal the wounds, but just as she was going to help the next one, Mihawk touched her arm.

- _"Don't, people wonder."_

She was slightly angry, but understood. People would wonder if an old rotting orchard suddenly flourished. Wouldn't it be the most wonderful gift because of it? She would be happy to get more friends, he must be too. So she stopped what she was doing and smiled at him.

_\- "This is how I will repay the dept."  
\- "Slow. Your body is tired"_

She wanted to be done quick, but he was right. She would go rest now.

They were returning inside when Peronas step faltered. Mihawk caught her and made sure she would stay upright. She was exhausted and started to cry. All day she had been strong and suddenly everything just spilled. Anguish, fear, relief. All a big mess of emotion.

It had been a long day and any human girl her age would have broken so much earlier. It was their endurance that made fairies so popular as slaves. Stronger than a human,lighter than a human, more durable than a human. They were almost perfect, but they needed their winter rest and that did not suite humans. A captive fairy didn't live quite as long as they should, because they were forced to work during winter. Maybe if they were let to keep their winter rest they would fair better, but keeping their rest from them was a way to keep control.

-  _"I'm so glad to be alive."_ She whimpered and wiped her tears.

She slowly made her way to her room and crashed onto her bed. Mihawk placed a blanket over her careful not to cover her wings. The wings were slightly roughed up, but would be back to good in no time. They were weird compared to normal butterfly wings. More durable and would heal even if pierced. When treated right, they could be made into the most beautiful of garments only those with enough money could buy.

Mihawk shook his head and looked at the little fairy calmly asleep and smiled.

-"Stupid and annoying, but brave little girl."

\-----

Perona had decided to do a tree every second day. Of course it had nothing to do with how well she was feeling. She could do the whole orchard in just three nights, but instead of being awake at night she would rather use the time to pester Mihawk to tell her about the human world. In return he would ask her something, but mostly he didn't seem to want to talk at all. It was annoying her how he would rather read a book than get to know her. Even his questions were mostly related to the coven.

Perona was in the midst of her evening gardening healing her third tree. It was at first a bit shy, but then mostly stubborn. It didn't want to shake so she had to remove the branches by herself. The tree didn't like pain, but she tried her best to coerce it. Old branches are sore all the time and will get it sick in long term. The pain would only be temporary. She was halfway done when she ran out of strength.

Mihawk was reading a book keeping an eye out for any visitors. She sat beside him and groomed her wings.

-  _"It's a stubborn old tree."_  
-  _"Like you."_  
- _"Rude!"_

Huffing angrily she rose up and went inside. She didn't need to spend every moment with the old man. She was in the library and looked at one of the picture books. They were stories for children where the fairies were always pictured looking ugly and crude, giving treasures after being so generously helped by all the beautiful and graceful humans. Wild fae were toothy naked monsters with rainbow coloured wings and the enslaved ones were grim and devoid of any colour. She couldn't read the stories, but it was clear who the heroes were. She hated the nobles in those books, because they wore the wings of the captured fae. Somehow the hero always became glad in wings at the end of story.

She took another book. First story was of a fairy girl who sees a prince in the woods and falls in love. She goes to a witch who helps her turn into a human. She takes her wings and sews herself a beautiful dress. The prince cannot help, but fall in love with her.

-  _"Grotesque."_  
_\- "What is?"_  
_\- "The depiction of fairies. We're not ugly and we don't want to become humans."_

She threw the book from her hands. The stories that didn't have fairies in them were more nicer. But it seemed to be part of human culture to depict fairies everywhere.

-  _"Don't throw... Expensive."_  Mihawk picked up the book and went to return it in it's shelf.

Perona slumped down on a lounge and pouting she looked as Mihawk picked the book that looked old and worn.

-  _"Why do people obsess over fairies so much, but treat us like dirt."_  
_\- "Because we used to worship fae."_  
_\- "Absurd."_

Mihawk flipped through the pages.

 _\- "Not so. You had magic, we did not. This was a very long time ago."_  
_\- "What changed? Did we kill your newborns or something?"_  
_\- "There's a myth you take newborns and change them to yours and the child grows wicked, but that is made up by those less,"_  he flipped the pages again,  _"educated. Children grow wicked under bad parenting and... environment?"_  
- _"When the tree is rotten the branches grow misshapen."_  
_-"_ Hmm, anyway...  _When humans found out that you were not gods, they wanted the magic for themselves. And when they couldn't... The descriptions in history books about that time are gruesome. This happened about  two hundred years ago. Do you not have writings?"_  
-  _"No. We change the place of the coven every year so we don't keep nonessential things like your 'books'. We do draw magic symbols, but those are known only by few."_

Mihawk flipped the pages again and looked at Perona angrily:

 _\- "Keeping your history is not nonsense."_ But then he seemed to realize something. "Might be that yours have been burned or damaged..." He mumbled to himself while burrowing his brow and rubbing his beard.  
-  _"What? It's rude to mumble."_ Perona rose slightly to see him better.It was annoying when he talked in his own language.

Mihawk was spacing and thinking. Perona yawned and thought the conversation was over when he came and sat beside her. He flipped the pages once again and stopped, pointing at a collection of symbols.

-  _"Can you read these?"_  
-  _"No, but I've seen them in the coven. Good luck symbols."_  
-  _"It's how your coven used to write."_ He looked enthusiastic.  
-  _"Huh? Really?"_  
-  _"This is the only book on your language with little bit of study on the writing. The way all the covens are isolated from each other has made each colony evolve their own version of an language. There are similarities, but it would still be impossible for you to understand fae of another colony."_  
-  _"The other fairies have writing? Books?"_ Perona was shocked.  
_\- "Yes."_

She didn't know what to say, but she felt sad and jealous. So much of her own history was lost because of human greed. Fairies could be greedy too, but pointless killing just because someone else had more... There was other ways.

Mihawk was excited by the opportunity to talk about fae. He wasn't good at it and it was considered a crime in this country and many other. Usually the fairies did not talk much about their coven and culture, Perona was different in that. More open. But Mihawk didn't even realize how bad he had made her feel.

-  _"You steal our history, captivate us and make us as the crooks in your stories..."_ She shook slightly and hugged her knees.  _"It's cruel."_

This got Mihawks attention and he closed the book and set it aside. Carefully he moved a bit closer to Perona and without thinking he reached out to comfort her. Violently she slapped his hand off and Mihawk twinged in pain. She was so frail and small it was easy to forget how strong she could be when she wanted.

- _"Do not touch!"_

She rose up from the lounge and started to morph smaller. Fast at first, but quickly she slowed down. She swore angrily as the burn wound on her arm started to hurt intensely. Her clothes dropped -too big for her diminishing form- and as soon as she was about the size of a rat she flew off as fast as she could. Mihawk picked her clothing and followed her. He had to run, so fast she was. She flew against a window and it broke on impact. This did slow her down enough so Mihawk wouldn't loose sight off her. Swearing she went to the first tree she had healed and pressed against it and the tree started to bend within itself, forming a space just large enough for her to comfortably fit in. Just before Mihawk got to her she closed the opening leaving only a small hole for air to change. This wasn't advisable to do when alone, but she trusted this tree to let her out when she wanted to and right now she didn't want to see anything human. Sadly she couldn't stop herself from hearing.

-  _"I know you are angry, but this is childish."_ Mihawk calmly spoke to her looking around for any visitors.  _"I know you're hurt from iron burn and smashing yourself against that window didn't help at all. Come back inside and let me treat you."_

 _\- "No, go away!"_ She screeched back at him. Her whole body was burning. Besides the physical pain, she was getting side-effects from over exerting her magical abilities. But most of all she was furious.

Mihawk was silent and then left. It was best to leave her alone for the moment. Perona heard him go and opened the hole slightly and then vomited outside. She crawled at the back of her cavern and curled into a fetal position. She shivered for awhile when Mihawk gently knocked on the wood. Of course what was gentle for him felt like a thunder for her.

 _-"Don't! I feel sick!"_  She held her ears and cried.  
- _"Forgive me."_ He whispered close to her hole.  _"I brought you some cloth, medicine, water and food. You don't need to come back to the house."_

Perona crawled back to the opening and looked at him. He burrowed his brow at the pale trembling creature. She should not have gone this far and he should not have let her mend the trees so soon. She measured the items with her eyes and waved her hand as a sign to put them in. Carefully he gave her the items one by one. It would be so easy to crush her.

-  _"Thank you."_ She said as she went between the cloths and started to apply the medicine.

Mihawk didn't quite hear her, so he gave her a look. He was content to see her having stopped trembling and as he was turning to go inside, she looked at him and nodded grateful, even if he could not see.

\-----

Perona woke to the gentle smell of morning dew. Sunlight peeked from the opening and she moved to have it on her face. It was warm and good. She was still feeling sick from the evening, but not so much that it would bother her. She spend her morning at the safety of her apple tree. The tree kept her company and she listened it ramble on about it's life as she enjoyed breakfast. The stories were fussy, but she understood that there had been one fairy before her there, but this was so long ago that the tree couldn't quite remember who it had been. Just brown wings with bright yellow bottom. She thanked the tree for cover and flew outside. It was noon and Perona had heard some silent sound few hours earlier. The broken glass had been collected and there was a new screen already. Mihawk must have spare ones somewhere. The door was closed, but there was a window left open at the upper floor. She flew in and saw her rag neatly folded on a stool in the middle of the room. Mihawk had purposefully left the window open for her.

She ignored the cloth and flew in the kitchen where Mihawk was getting ready for his daily chores. He should go look for other strays, traps and hunters, but having Perona there made it impossible, so instead he spend his days doing chores around the estate, reading and maintaining his gear.

- _"Morning."_ Perona flew next to his ear. She wasn't really cheery, but she wasn't angry at him either.

Mihawk turned to look at her and immediately closed his eyes.

-"Clothes, please." He whispered uneasy.

Perona looked at him. She didn't understand. After a bit of silence Mihawk noticed his error.

 _\- "Didn't you see your dress upstairs?"_  
-  _"Still sick, can't morph."_ She sat on his shoulder.

Mihawk sighed heavily and turned back to his chore trying not to see her.

She spent the rest of the day near him just watching what he was doing. And throughout the day she realized that, while he was trying to hide it, it was clear his hand hurt. The hand she had hit in her fury. She hadn't thought much of him wearing fingerless-gloves, it was usual when he worked, but now he hadn't removed them even during leisure. So when he was silently reading a book, she gathered all her courage.

-  _"Does your hand hurt?"_  She was on the backrest of his chair.  
-  _"Not at all."_  
-  _"Then why the glove?"_  
-  _"Cold. Stop bothering, I'm trying to read."_  
-  _"Take it off."_

Mihawk sighed long and then removed the gloves. He knew he couldn't win her in stubbornness. His hand was deep purple in colour and slightly swollen.  
She flew next to it and looked worried. Carefully she moved it to get a better look.

-  _"Not broken. Just a bruise."_ Mihawk said nonchalant. He didn't want her to feel so guilty. It had been his own fault.

She did not answer him so Mihawk returned to his book. Perona felt extremely bad. She didn't want to hurt anyone and she didn't have the power to heal him. So she laid on his hand and hugged it gently.

Mihawk looked at her. Did she want to inflict more pain on him? Her back was turned towards him so he didn't see her face, but he could feel her choking on tears. So he let her be on his hand and soon got used to her weight on it.

When he was finished reading he looked at his little guest still on his hand. She had fallen asleep. And he was slightly flustered. It was that same feeling he got when a cat fell asleep on his lap. How could he possibly move now, when being blessed like this?

She stirred in her sleep and opened her wing to cover herself with. He looked at the beautiful sparkling blue wings and the rose pink hair. The hunters would have made a lot of money with her.

He wanted to touch her wings or try the feel of the blue fluff between them. But he would touch her only with her permission from now on and he didn't know if she would allow it anymore.

\-----

Perona snorted and woke up. She stretched and fluttered her wings. It was still dark outside and inside. She realized that she was still on Mihawks hand. It wasn't swollen anymore, just a crude purple. She fluttered off of it and saw that Mihawk too had fallen asleep though he had been deliberate as she saw his book on a table and the reading candle had been put out. She flew further away and morphed to a size of a cat. Her shoulder burned, but she gritted her teeth, because she didn't want to wake Mihawk. She took a blanket and clumsily put it over his feet. She sat on his lap to rest before turning small again. Suddenly his hand moved and clumsily petted her head before dropping back on his lap. Perona whined and whiped the top of her head sorting out her hair. She shot daggers at Mihawk who was smiling somewhat content. Nearly chastising him for being mean, she realized that he was most definitely asleep and on a second thought the way he had petted her was not the way you would pet another person. The movement had been similar to how he petted his horse, so maybe humans had pet animals that would sit on their laps.

Perona couldn't get her eyes off of Mihawk. A person who could smile so sweetly could not be bad, even if they were a human. When she thought about it he had saved, fed and taken care of her, answered all her questions and seemed to study her language to better communicate with her. All this without expecting anything in return. He actually seemed to detest having his orchard taken care of.  
What made him act uncaring and cold, when in reality he was compassionate and warm? Among the human world, he seemed something worth learning.

\-----

He was gathering eggs and she looked on. It had been a a day since the incident and she was still in her small form and had made her tree home a bit more comfortable to live in. Mihawk had sewn her a new piece of clothing that would fit her smaller body. He had tried several times before succeeding in creating something for her. After it he had been woeful and said he would start practicing sewing. She didn't know why, she wouldn't be here for long, but maybe he found it a practical skill to have. Which it was, but she was no good in it.

He cooked the eggs on a pan and cut some meat in it too. He took his smallest plate and put a small bit of scrambled egg on it. He placed it on the table and took a thimble and poured a small amount of water in it and placed it next to the plate. Perona thanked for the meal and dug in. He didn't really need to care for her like this anymore, there was plenty on the yard, but he said it was dangerous for her to fly around unsupervised. Even if he didn't get many visitors he was still a lord and owned a lot of the farm land. So if a farmer came to visit and saw her flying around that would create a load of problems for him and her.

And on the other hand, she liked being pampered.

 _\- "Do humans have pets?"_ She asked between bites  
-  _"Do you?"_ He had started his own food.  
- _"We can tame some small birds to ride on and mice like to live in the burrows we have created. I have a pet mouse called Kumashi."_ She looked a bit sad.  _"I hope others are taking care of him."_  
_\- "Mice are thought as vermin here."_  
_\- "No way. They're fluffy and help us fill our winter stocks and keep them clean of insects during winter. And they guard during winter, waking us up if there is danger. When they die we take their fur and hide and make clothes and blankets of them. They're so useful, friendly and cute."_  
- _"They eat our stocks and spread diseases."_  
_\- "Hmph! Then what do you have as pets."_  
_\- "Dogs and cats."_

_\- "Dogs are big and try to eat you if you don't turn big as well."_  
_\- "Dogs help us hunt, herd our cattle and keep guard of the house."_

_\- "Hmm, then what do cats do?"_  
_\- "They eat the mice and other rodents."_  
_\- "Cats are horrible. Sometimes one finds our coven and we have to chase it away because otherwise it would hunt us for sports."_  
_\- "I actually like cats a lot."_  Mihawk sounded a bit wishful.  
_\- "You want one?"_  
_\- "Yes, they're nice to pet. I can't really get one with the chance of getting a rogue fairy, like you, here every once in awhile. I had one, but you fairies are terrified of them."_  
_\- "Can you teach cats?"_  
_\- "Yes, you can. Though it's a bit hard."_  
_\- "Can you teach them not to hunt?"_  
_\- "That is against their nature."_

She stopped to think for a while. She could converse with plants and herbivores through touch. And if one could converse with something as violent as human, then maybe she could converse with predators as well. She had not tried, but it could be possible. A possibility to make Mihawk happy.

-  _"Let's get a cat."_  
_\- "Impossible."_  
_\- "I could try asking it not to eat me."_  
_\- "That's a ridiculous idea."_  
_\- "I don't like the mouse eating part, but it can't eat me when I'm big and I could ask it not to eat fairies if possible. It would keep you company when I'm gone."_

She had noticed something about Mihawk was slightly off. Maybe it was being on his own all the time... She would be lonely. Wouldn't he be too?

-  _"You think I'm lonely?"_ Mihawk raised his brow. He didn't think himself lonely. Though it was nice to have Perona there, especially now that he had gotten pretty good in fae.

_\- "Aren't you?"_

Her eyes were big and she looked at him like it was something obvious. And suddenly he didn't know how to answer anymore.

\-----

Just this once he had left her alone to ask local farmers if they had kittens they could part with. She was forbidden from leaving the house and had to stay vigilant so she could hide in time. It was dull, but he was back soon with a beautiful kitten. When she had seen him return she morphed to her human size and put her dress on. She was at a door and looked as he set the kitten down in the middle of the parlor. It was mostly white and it's back was covered with splotches of striped grey fur. The kitten moved around getting to know it's new home. Perona knew that this was her idea, but still she was terrified. The kitten was cute and fluffy, but had claws and teeth everywhere. She might be big, but this thing could still murder her.

Mihawk was amused by her fidgeting at the door. She took a couple of steps inside and the kitten noticed her and of course it got curious. Perona dashed through the room when she noticed it moving towards her. She grabbed onto Mihawks cape and hid behind his back.

He laughed amused.

 _\- "No, no. Don't laugh! It'll eat me."_  
_\- "Didn't you say we should get one?"_  
-  _"I didn't remember they were all so horrifying!"_

Mihawk laughed heartily and moved away from her. Perona squealed and desperately clawed at him wrapping her arms around his waist. The kitten followed and meowed which caught Perona completely off guard. She had never heard these things make noises. She lunged onto Mihawks neck, her feet flailing against him, wings completely shut and stiff. Mihawk had to pick her up bridal style to some what calm her down.

 _\- "He's still a baby."_ He cooed to Perona amused.  
_\- "Are you calling that thing a baby!?"_ She looked at him angry, but hid her face in his neck after catching a glimpse of the kitten.  
_\- "He won't hurt you, if you don't hurt him first. Though kittens can get a bit rough when playing."_  
- _"Playing?"_  
_\- "Baby cats don't know how to hunt so they need to practice how to. Usually when getting a barn cat you get nearly an adult one because they know how to hunt. He's a bit too young and needs time to hone his skills. Still he's good as a house cat."_  
_\- "So he is not dangerous yet?"  
_ -  _"Not to someone our size. You said it yourself."_

Perona looked around, but couldn't see the kitten anywhere.

 _\- "Oh, look at that. He's climbing up my leg."_ Mihawk had a small adoring smile.

Perona screeched once more and kicked herself off and with heavy beats of her wings landed on a chair. She looked at Mihawk and gasped, but not because of the kitten firmly holding onto his leg, but because he was holding his abdomen right where her kick had hit him. Still on her chair she looked as the kitten dropped down and started to come towards her. Perona tried seeing how badly he was hurt, but couldn't, his hands, clothes and hat were blocking her view.

And she took her courage and carefully passed the kitten not breaking eye contact with it. Once she got to Mihawk she fussily held her hands up looking at his abdomen. She wanted to touch, but didn't know where and how bad it hurt. She looked up anxious and worried and Mihawk was grinning at her. Perona was dumbfounded.

-  _"Next time be more careful. I'm fragile."_ He sneered.  
_\- "Oh! You scoundrel!"_ She slapped his chest pouting angrily.

She froze as the cat pushed against her leg.

\- "So you like her more? Disappointing." Mihawk picked the kitten up.  _"I thought he wanted to eat your wings, but seems like he just likes you."_  
-  _"Eh,me?"_  She looked at the kitten, which was content with Mihawk rubbing it's head.  _"Does it have a name?"_  
-  _"No, but you could name it."  
_ -  _"You don't know... Alright, don't let him bite me."_

Perona reached her hand out and carefully touched the kittens side. It's fur was soft and warm. She closed her eyes and at that moment the kitten looked at her amazed. It soon relaxed, but kept looking at her. This moment felt like an eternity to Mihawk. He had seen foreign fairies communicate with animals like this, but he had never been so close. He wasn't close when she healed the trees or molded her tree house. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he was scared of the raw strength and the magic she fielded.   
In the end Perona pressed her head against the kittens.

- _"I feel so bad for being scared of him."_ She laughed relieved. _"Take him back home, but slowly. He needs to remember the way back here."_

Mihawk looked at her confused.

 _\- "He misses his family, but he thinks this might be a good place of operations. So he'll come back when ready."_  
\- "Oh." Mihawk looked down at kitten disappointed.  _"What's his name?"_  
-"Purema."  
-"That's a nice name, Purema."

Purema meowed happily back at him.

 _\- "I'll make sure the farmer won't do anything to him."_  
_\- "I made sure that he tells his friends not to eat fairies."_  
_\- "Why did he like you so much?"_  
_\- "I didn't ask. Want me to?"_  She reached towards Purema, but Mihawk pulled away.  
-  _"Maybe it's better we don't know. I'll go now."_

\-----

It had started to rain while Perona waited for Mihawk to return. She was deep in thought looking out of a window. She was in a dusty room in the servants area, which was clearly used only to store unnecessary items. It was small and crammed and there was a tiny window to light up the place and bringing a candle seemed dangerous and an oil lamp she couldn't use. So in the end it was pretty dark in there, because the vines had grown over the window so unused this room was. But she wasn't really interested in the room nor at what she could see outside. She was in the room because it was forgotten. It felt less human to her.   
A knock on the door startled her. Mihawk slowly opened it and looked at her. He looked like he was going to say something, so before he could, she just showed him her tongue and then turned back at the window. Mihawk burrowed his brow slightly and then left closing the door behind him. Clearly Perona was not in the mood to talk, so he let her be.

Which was good, because she needed to think.

Talking with the cat had left her troubled. Too troubled to even garden that night.  
And it wasn't the type of thing that she should trouble herself with, but it was still bothering her a lot. She had actually noticed it at first with Mihawks horse and the chickens and when she thought about it the trees were a bit same. Though communicating with a plant was completely different from an animal. She wondered if the insects were the same though she wouldn't check, because she was horrified of them.

Again Mihawk knocked and didn't really wait for her to answer. He brought the evening dinner to her and left once more.

It was a simple porridge which suited her just fine.

She ate and kept thinking. And finally she understood what was the problem. She took the dishes to the kitchen and cleaned them and then went to look for Mihawk. She found him in the library lounging comfortably with a book in one hand and a piece of bread in the other. As she walked to sit on the other end of the lounge he offered the bread to her. She looked at it for a moment and then took it. She sat and looked at the weird jelly like red substance that had been put on top of it like butter. It smelled sweet, very much like raspberries. She snorted a little and Mihawk looked at her under his brow. Yes, he wouldn't poison her. So she licked it a bit and it did taste like raspberries. She waited a moment for any poison to kick in and when nothing happened she took a big hearty bite out of the bread. She hadn't tasted something so sweet and good in a while. She smiled a thanks to him which he seemed to ignore, preferring to read a book.

She needed to ask him something, but she didn't quite know how to put it. It felt like she would betray her own people, but she knew that it would actually benefit them. It was weird. Maybe it would be easier if they talked of something and he suggested it himself.

 _\- "How did it go with the farmer?"_ She tired sounding a bit not so enthusiastic to talk.  
_\- "He's a lot richer now... Are you going to garden tonight?"_ He was going to forbid it because of the rain and she looked tired to him.  
_-"No. I'm a bit tired."_  She wanted him to ask why.  
_\- "Alright. I thought so."_ And he continued his reading.

Perona was having a hard time not to pout at him and be angry. Instead she took another bite of her bread.

 _\- "There's this funny thing I noticed,"_ she started and when he acknowledged her she continued,  _"It's harder to converse with the animals and plants here."_

Mihawk put his book aside and directed his attention towards her. She started to feel nervous under his eye.

 _\- "I need to connect on a deeper level than normal, because they use your language."_  
_-"Don't animals have their own languages?"_  He crossed his arms and looked at her doubtful.  
- _"They do. How to explain it... Wild birds and other wild animals talk gibberish, in their own language. They're extremely hard to connect with because they're not used to it. No that's not it. Hmm."_

Perona looked around and went to pick up papers. She sat a bit further from Mihawk to leave a space between them.

_\- "All beings have base level of understanding. Let's call it Home. Home is the same for all."_

She put a paper on the sofa. Mihawk sat a bit more straight to see better.

_\- "Next is the Family. It's the language your specific species talks. For me it's fae, for a cat it's cat and so on."_

She placed a paper over the other so that a part of the bottom paper showed from beneath.

_\- "Then is Friend. This is the first and foremost level and it appears only on species that try to understand other species. For example wild birds don't have it."_

She places a third paper on the stack the same way as earlier.

- _"For example a tame mouse has fae as their Friend language. They've grown to understand us through living with us. When I connect with a mouse I only need to go on Friend level so it's efficient and fast."_ She taps the top paper. _"Most of the time we do not need to even connect to understand each other. You understand?"_  
_\- "Somewhat. What are you aiming at exactly?"_

 _\- "You need to listen till the end."_ Perona puffed her cheeks.

Mihawk nodded silently.

 _\- "Trees at the coven are the same as mice. They have fae as their Friend. But trees at this orchard don't. Their Friend is what ever you speak."_  
-  _"It's called_  common. _"_  
_\- "Purema is the same. His Friend is_ common _, not fae. So when I communicate with him, I have to go all the way down to Home level to be able to understand him and for him to understand me."_ As she said it she tapped at the bottom paper.  _"Some animals have several Friends."_

She picked a fourth paper placing it on top.

 _\- "Which Friend language the creature has the most contact is on top. For example let's say your horse. He has two Friends: fae and common. He has common on top and fae under it. So if he would just let me touch him I would tap into the fae layer. Not so fast but faster and less burdening than going all the way to Home."_  
_\- "So communicating with Purema was hard for you because you had to do the extra work, because you don't understand_  common."

While he spoke Mihawk seemed to realize something mid sentence. He looked at Perona and his eyes sparkled. She liked that sparkle.

- _"Perona, do you want to learn_ common _?"_

She shyly nodded at him.

Mihawk rose and went by the shelves clearly looking for something.

 _\- "Thank you for your presentation. It was enlightening, though next time if you want something you need only ask. You are my guest after all."_  
_-"It's not so simple, stupid old man."_  Perona thought to herself while blushing.

Mihawk found his old ABC and smiled. She might not learn it in the time she would be there, but he didn't mind teaching her. It would be a good way to pass the time and her ever growing curiosity and need to learn was somewhat charming to him. He grabbed some paper and a pen and started the first lesson.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What are these fluttery feelings deep in her heart? And why is Mihawk suddenly so silent? Isn't he happy that Zoro came to visit, because she sertainly is.

Perona had healed a third of the orchard. It was so big that Mihawk would need extra hands next year to somehow manage his crop. The moon was getting bigger by the day and she relished the feeling of moon light, something about it made her feel stronger. But today it was cloudy yet she still worked on a tree. It was a smaller one and it was easy at complying. It had been shaded by the others for years and she could understand why it was boiling with anger deep inside. She made the others give it a bit more space and after that, she told it to leash it's anger into strength, otherwise the other trees would grow over it again. After she was ready, she skipped happily to Mihawk. As usual he had kept guard.

 _\- "Pleased with your work?"_  
_\- "_ Yes.  _Very much so."_  She hummed and was just about to remove her garment to go sleeping in her tree, when he lifted his hand as a gesture to stop.  
- _"Can you sleep in the house tonight? We need to go to town tomorrow."_

Town. The set of houses she had seen out in the distance when first arriving to his house. The idea of going there was scary and she didn't want to go. She had once begged him to take her there, the pictures in her books were so beautiful, gardens and high rising churches. but Mihawk had said that everything there was covered with rock, dirt and waste. No greenery just humans, cattle and fairies every one choking at the smell of decay. Captive fairies with dull dead eyes and their owners who took pleasure in brutalizing their prized possessions to feel high and mighty. Mihawk didn't like the town at all and had managed to scare every thought of going there off of her.

_\- "Can't I stay in the house and hide?"_

Mihawk shook his head.

_\- "Haven't you noticed how more and more people have been nosing around? Your work is starting to make this place look lived in. What if someone comes and you can't find a hiding place? Or they notice you? What then?"_

She looked at him sullen, but he wouldn't bend on this. So she sighed and sat beside him and leaned against his legs. She'd come to trust him and knew he always put her safety first.

 _\- "We'll have to colour your hair."_  
_\- "Definitely not!"_  
_\- "It's not going to be permanent. Pink is not a colour a normal human girl would have and you're going to pose as my mute godchild."_  
_\- "Mute?"_  
-  _"You barely know the basics of common. If you talked you might slip and say something in fae and that's not allowed in town. Or pretty much anywhere in this country. And you have a pretty strong accent."_  
_\- "What do the fairies talk then?"_  
_\- "Common or they don't talk. The punishments for talking fae are severe."_

Perona didn't ask more. She didn't want to know.

\-----

So early in the morning Mihawk woke Perona up. The sun was barely up and she yawned loudly.

-  _"Follow me."_

He got her to the bathroom and with a thick substance he coloured her hair black. It was heavy and clumpy, but looked passing enough after it had been braided and tied into a bun that covered the sharp tips of her ears. He looked at back of her neck thoughtfully. Would people notice the blue fluff if she wore a cape? He decided to take no chances and with a steel razor he shaved the blue fluff away. She was slightly disappointed at his decision, but it would grow back and he didn't shave it all off. She looked in the mirror and showed tongue at the black haired woman staring back at her, who just happened to be just as rude. She would never want to become a human. Mihawk chuckled at her reaction.

-  _"Your normal hair colour is better."_  
-  _"It is!"_

He attached a light wagon onto his horse that he called "Night" though it was not black in colour but a beautiful bay. Perona loved petting Night whenever she could though he wasn't that much of a fan at first, but he learned to like her touch. Perona found it funny that Night actually didn't have a name given to him by his mare. Tame horses seemed to prefer the names humans gave them.

They sat on the wagon on their way to town. It was filled with items Mihawk had gathered from his fallen enemies. Iron weapons, armours, jewelry and so on. She actually recognized the iron dagger that her captors were going to use.

 _\- "What are you going to do with all the weapons? You cant sell them to be reused as weapons."_  
_\- "It's raw material for a blacksmith whom I know doesn't make weapons. They'll probably become horseshoes and nails."_  
_\- "Thank goodness."_ She wiped sweat off of her brow.  _"I hate these clothes. They're so ill fitting."_

Perona was forced to wear Mihawks overtly large clothes. The dress he had done for her was not proper to go to town with. She pulled the collar of her cape down. It was such a hot day and she was not used to wearing so much clothing.

 _\- "Why won't you just morph slightly bigger? Didn't you boast that you can be the size of a bear."_  
_\- "I can be any size I want, but some sizes just feel more natural. When I'm this size I feel at scale with you."_  
_\- "That's weird. You want to be short because a bunch of ruffians forced you as one?"  
_ _\- "I'm actually slightly smaller than what they made me be."_

Mihawk glanced her over. The difference between her and how she had been was there when he concentrated on it. Though it was a rather small difference.

 _\- "You want to be short?"_  
\- "Maybe I just like you taller than me."  
-  _"I would hate looking up at you."_

Perona snorted, feigning to be offended by him. But in reality, she liked him being taller than her. It felt right.

The closer to the town she could see enslaved fairies working with the cattle, tending crop, cleaning streets. One was without a shirt and she could see crude scars the mutilation and abuse had left them with. He had only very little hair growing on his back, so scarred he was. She felt pity and some of the faces she saw were familiar. Or maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her.

Sometimes someone disappeared from her coven. The elders had been cautious and blamed humans. She had been so quick to pass off their judgement as the mumbling of old fools and just laughed with the other young adults:

" _All those who disappeared must have been eaten by wild animals. There's no such thing as humans. It's ridiculous."_

Now she found herself wishing that they had been eaten by animals, because the second option was far worse.

She pressed herself against Mihawk. He did notice her becoming more quiet and gloomy as they approached the town and saw the fairies. He had wanted to spare her the experience, but they were starting to run out off necessities. He had not thought she would be staying with him so long. Not that he minded. The more he got to know her the more he wanted her to stay.

She was right. He was lonely.

But being lonely didn't stop him from thinking rationally. Trip to town was just as dangerous as her staying back home, but at least this way he could be there if something did happen. He had put his armour on and taken his sword with him as well. Just in case.

-  _"Remember to act like you're a mute while in town."_

She nodded and took his hand in hers.

Mihawk felt his heart skip a beat. What an adorable little girl. A trip to town didn't have to be all bad. A couple of well made dresses and treats to give her when she was doing well with her studies. Maybe this could be a positive experience for her.

He gave her hand a slight squeeze back.

-  _"Don't worry. I will keep you safe."_

Perona leaned a bit fuller against him and smiled a little smile.  
She felt safe.

\-----

First thing in town they went to the blacksmith. He looked at the iron and while weighting it he questioned Mihawk about Perona. Who was she? Why hadn't he met a cute thing like her earlier? Perona couldn't understand everything he said. A word here and there. But still she blushed a bit as the blacksmith winked to her. The blacksmith paid them a fair price for the iron.

There they went to a pawn shop. Perona had to stay behind and guard the wagon and horse as Mihawk haggled with the shopkeeper. Some people tried talking to her, but she shook her head and pointed at her throat. One fairy stared at her a bit too long. She didn't recognize them, but they looked at her like it was clear as day that she was a fairy too. She tried not to look back and the owner of the poor fairy came to hit it with a stick. It kept silent and covered a bit which prompted more hits from it's owner. The owner then came to apologize for any discomfort caused by his fairy. She just shook her head and waved him off.

In reality she wanted to scream and make him sorry for being born.

Mihawk returned quickly with a bag of cold.

\- "They gave me less than it was worth, but we'll be alright."

He didn't know why he said that to her. She wouldn't do anything with the information, she would leave anyway when her debt was paid, so something like money didn't really touch her. But she smiled sweetly back at him trying her best not to show him how bad she felt.

There they went to the stables. The horse and wagon were a bit too much trouble to be taken around the town. In the stables they would be taken care of and guarded from thieves.

They walked into the towns centre. Mihawk took shorter steps on purpose not to loose her in the crowd. Perona held tightly onto her cape. It was critical not to have her wings show. The first place they stopped at was a tailor. The tailor was a proud woman and took pride in her craft. It took Mihawk a lot of groveling and bribing, but the tailor finally agreed to just let them take half finished products. They couldn't let the tailor fit the dresses on Perona, because she would be found out like that. While the two fought Perona looked around the shop. The fabrics were beautiful and detailed. They came in so many colours she didn't think it possible. A red fabric caught her eyes. It had a delicate floral pattern and the fabric had a golden sheen to it. She tried it with her hand and it felt extremely light. She went to Mihawk and tugged his sleeve. The tailor and he stopped their argument and gave her a questioning look. Shyly she pointed at the fabric. The tailor took a hold of it.

\- "This?"

Perona nodded and then she went to a mannequin that had a unfinished jacket on it. She tried showing with her hands that the jacket should have a long back instead of being short like her sample piece.

\- "Oh sweetie I can't make you a jacket without proper measurements."  
\- "Can she try this one on? My godchild, she rarely asks for anything. Please, just this once."  
\- "Alright, I can't deny the wishes of cute little girls and their well paying relatives."  
\- "Do you have a private place where she can try it on?"  
\- "You're pushing your luck good sir."  
\- "I'm a very, very well paying relative."  
\- "This way." The tailor sighed.

She let them use her bedroom upstairs. When Mihawk had made sure no one would see Perona flung her cape off and opened the string behind her neck that was holding her shirt up since the back had to be opened to allow space for her wings. She took her shirt partly off, letting it flung on her hips as it had been tucked into her pants. Mihawk had his eyes closed as she tried the jacket on. Of course he had seen her glad of clothing multiple times, but he was a man of principle and at least one of them had to stay proper.

Perona cupped her breasts and whispered as silently as she could.

 _\- "Look, almost perfect. It is tight from the back. It needs to be loosened and made longer. Sort of like a sock to cover my wings."_  
_\- "Why do you want a jacket."_ He looked at her back making note of how much it had to be loosened.  
_\- "I don't want to hide every time you have guests over."_  
_\- "What of your hair and ears?"_  
_\- "We can color it or I can wear a coif. Please."_  
_\- "Fine. Put on your clothes."_

Mihawk explained to the tailor what changes should be made. She made a couple of drawings until one was approved by Perona. The tailor was miffed and the whole trip cost Mihawk a pretty penny, but somehow it didn't bother him.

Perona was wearing boots Mihawk had taken from one of the people he had killed. They were good looking and high grade. A good hunter could live a life of luxury. But the high quality didn't stop them from being a ill fit to a fairy, who had not been accustomed to wearing shoes. The shoemaker was more than happy to trade the boots to something with a lighter built and a better fit. The shoes weren't anything special, but she liked them anyway.

Finally they went through the market place. It wasn't busy at that time of the day and they could buy what they needed with ease. Mihawk bought some fresh treats for Perona to try out, but she was more interested in pointing at things and him naming them for her.

But at one point a smell started to come from somewhere and it made Perona nauseous and dizzy so she had to grab Mihawks arm to keep herself steady. He looked at her surprised before realizing where the smell was coming from. At a stand someone was selling ingredients specifically for catching fairies. The keeper was mixing a stew for a customer. Mihawk tried memorizing the faces of the two to close down their business if he had the chance. But right now it was most important to get Perona away before someone notices her nausea and makes some unwanted connections. Discreetly they left and returned to their wagon. She had to lay down at the back of it as they went back home.

She looked at the evening sky and started crying.

-  _"I hate hunters."_

\-----

Perona was half way done with the orchard and her first full moon away from the cove was nearing. She could have finished by now, but she found herself stalling with her work. Always looking at what Mihawk was doing, learning all she could about the world and then spend the evening just sitting outside with Mihawk or on the roof, thinking about all the things she didn't know and the things she had learned. Almost like she didn't want to go home. On the other hand if she did, she wouldn't be able to leave. They'd tie her down to keep her there. A living survivor. She wondered what had happened to the others Mihawk had saved.

\- "What happen others?" She asked him one time while they were cleaning the chicken coot. She had learned the basics of his language quick, though she did find it hard and clumsy as a language. She still couldn't read it fast, but she tried her best.

Mihawk raised his brow, her question was sudden and weird. Seeing his confusion she tried to say it clearer.

\- "Other fairy you help? What happen?"

-"Oh, what happened to the other fairies I helped?" He thought for a moment before answering.  _"I don't usually get there before the wings are cut. The fact is fairies loose their magical abilities when the connection is cut and since humans don't want such tiny servants, they're made to become larger than what you fairies usually prefer to be. Without wings they can't turn back."_

She looked sad. It could have been her stuck into one form. Mihawk continued his work while explaining to her what usually happens after he's "saved" one.

-  _"They do try that dept of gratitude thing on me, but I could never accept it. They were only half of what they used to be because I'm never on time. I can't send them back because the traps your people set are too hard for someone human size to pass and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to look at the others without missing what they once had. But there are safe places here and there, where I take them after. I give them some gold and if they want to, they can sell their wings for good money. From there they're usually taken abroad and integrated into that society. There are countries where fairies are treated fairly."_

She started to cry and held her shoulder. It had fully healed with only a pale scar to remind her of her idiocy.

Perona and Mihawk, they were good friends now and he wasn't that awful even if he was a human. They could talk about things more openly than at the beginning and he seemed to start liking her. Leaving him felt like a shame, but she would visit. Thinking about leaving him made her sad. And she would most definitely miss his striking looks and the peculiar eyes. When she had asked him if there were other humans with eyes like his he shook his head. Only in his family and he was the last.

She tried her best to remember the story about "hawk eyes", but could not. Why did it bother her?

\-----

It was full moon and she felt more connected to everything than any other night. She took a couple of dance steps wearing a dress.

Mihawk had tailored the dresses to fit on her and had opened the backs to leave space for her wings which she happily fluttered every once in awhile. His fixes weren't the most nice looking, but the dresses were definitely an improvement compared to the rag he had made her. When ever he got the rare visitor she would put on her red jacket with the beautiful floral design. She didn't always have time to color or hide her hair so in the end they stopped doing that. The lie they told the people was that she was his own personal fairy and since his class was high enough, they believed him. It was hard for her to just serve drinks and look demure while the guest openly belittled her and said the most horrible things, even if Mihawk tried to remind them who "owned" her. He tried his best to make her feel better after. She didn't know why he did when it would be easier to just let her be, maybe he felt guilty not being able to fully defend her. His saving of fairies wasn't public knowledge and he could not have any rumours started.

It was raining so Mihawk didn't allow her to be outside. Rain didn't bother her when it was full moon, but he said he wasn't able to keep a look out as well and someone might see. And the idea of looking her dance naked in the rain while the indoor lights would accentuate her every curve and crevice. Mihawk shook the thought out of his mind. A true man of principle would not let such dirty fantasies become reality. Such a thing could have disastrous results.

\- "My body is beauty." Perona hummed mids her dance.  
-  _"I agree, so more the reason to keep it hidden."_

She showed tongue and stopped her dance. She got it that he meant it as a joke, but such a lewd comment made her think of the rude guests. She didn't feel like dancing anymore. It didn't feel as good in doors as it did out and she couldn't fully delve in it with her dress constricting her. She went to the book shelves and looked for a book to read.

\- "F-a-i-r-y t-a-l-e-s."  
-  _"It's a collection of your stories collected by humans. Dull thing_ _for you_ _to read, I reckon."_

She still took the book and swirled around before going to her favourite lounge. She laid on her stomach and waved her legs making sure Mihawk saw them.

-  _"Not very lady like."_ He said to her nonchalant deep in thought as he tried fixing a seam in one of her dresses.  
\- "It's very fairy like."

A small chuckle escaped his lips and she grinned.

Starting to read slowly in her head, first was the age old human warning. She didn't want to waste time looking at the crude human translation. The next one was -according to the scholar- an old nursery rhyme meant for scaring the small fairy children to stay near their coves.

"Hawkeyed Fairy"

Her eyes widened. How could she forget the oldest nursery rhyme she had heard countless times.

" _Once lived a fairy man,_  
eyes of an hawk,  
_a skull on his back._

 _He lived with his peers_  
Never missed a thing.  
Not love nor friendship.

 _Until he fell in love with a woman_  
_And for the love of a human_  
_he sold his people._

 _Showed army where they lived._  
_Wings in shreds and necks in chains_  
_they were taken by the bird of prey._

 _Those spared he chased after_  
_relentless was his pursue  
no mercy shown for the captured._

 _So great was his deed_  
_the humans adored him_  
_the hawkeye could fly even after._

 _Those who stray_  
_From the cove so safe_  
_he imprisons with piercing look._

 _You'll never see the cove again_  
_as he pulls off your wings_  
_and takes you back to his friends."_

Mihawks eyes were the same as an hawks, but his ears were round and he didn't have wings. He couldn't be that fairy. It was a rhyme passed on for generations. That fairy was long gone, but was it even possible for humans and fairies to have children together?

Perona shook lightly out of fear. The idea of the Hawkeyed Fairy to be real and even have descendants, was absolutely terrifying.

She looked at Mihawk with round eyes. No it was silly. Mihawk is gentle and tries to save the fairies not capture them. It was just a strange coincidence. She snuck and leaned to his lap her arms crossed and when he looked back at her, she asked him:

\- "You tell me everything. No hiding."  
-  _"I've got nothing to hide."_

He lied, there was no need for her to know everything about him. She would leave soon anyway. Perona didn't notice, just purred happily. Mihawk was very nice for a human.

\-----

Perona looked at the green haired boy who was clearly a fairy like her, but he didn't have any wings.

She was allowed to open the door these days because word had got around of Lord Dracule taking a servant. And some people just assumed so because the orchard was starting to look better. Salesmen came to the back door and she even got to buy groceries from them. Some were mean and hid bits of iron in between the goods, but most were nice enough. And they didn't need to go to town because of them, so getting burned a bit was minor compared to that. When mentioning the bits of iron Mihawk had given her gloves and said it was a common practice to stop fairies from thieving. A sad notion because they wouldn't try to thieve if they were fed properly to begin with.

Of course more traffic meant she had to keep her wings hidden more often and she noticed slight change in them as a result. They were more sturdy and didn't shine as strongly as before. Most of all she had gotten used to the discomfort. Most negative impact on her life was that her beloved tree didn't feel as safe anymore, so she had moved back into the house, though this time she had taken one of the servant rooms for herself. They were smaller than the guest room which felt safer to her and since they had locks Mihawk had bent though he would have preferred her in the guest room which was close to his.

The boy or more like a man was dressed up in a loose dark green robe, a weird light green belt and black trousers with boots that looked extremely worn out. Most notably he was carrying three blades. He looked at her with surprise and when Mihawk came to greet his guest, the boy swore loudly and pulled out two of his blades.

\- "I came here to see if the rumours were true. I always tried defending you. Not Hawk Eyes. He would never. But there she stands and I am here to end your pitiful existence." He put one sword in his mouth, pulled third from its sheath and rushed towards Mihawk. Mihawk sighed and grabbed his own sword and as soon as it had started the duel had ended. She had been sure an fairy his size would win by raw strength alone, but there he laid on the floor with a stupid look on his face.

 _\- "Perona please close the door and then remove your jacket."_  
\- "Hey not the fae bullshit. I can't understand it."  
\- "I've told you to learn it." Mihawk kicked the boys shin.

Perona did as she was told and the boy looked as she carefully fluttered her wings sore from the jacket.

\- "What the hell?"  
\- "Perona is a free fairy. She is just here to pay off her dept."  
\- "I can't believe it. You actually got to one in time."  
\- "She laughed idiotically loud before being captured so I had enough time to get to her, though it was probably the main reason she got captured in the first place." Mihawk then imitated Peronas peculiar laughter and the boy laughed with tears in his eyes.  
-  _"Who is this person and how can you trust someone him with this information!"_  She was red with embarrassment.  
\- "No fae!"  
\- "Pardon Perona, she's still learning common. This is Roronoa Zoro. He is a former pupil of mine."

Zoro rose from the ground and dusted himself before offering his hand to shake hers. She took it and somehow his touch felt like that of an family member and she felt relief.

\- "Nice to meet you, Perona. I'm glad to see a happy ending for once." Zoro grinned.

\-----

Zoro was like Mihawk. He moved around freeing slaved fairies and slaying their captors. He wasn't as good keeping his business hidden as Mihawk was thus he was supposed to sneak through the back to avoid attention. He just wasn't that good at finding the right door. Perona was confused by the fact that he actually didn't understand fae at all even if he is a fairy himself. 

\- "I tried teaching him, but he's just no good." Mihawk lamented  
\- "I don't need fae to communicate with them. Besides I have my friends to help me out with that sort of thing these days. Which brings to mind that I have to stay here a couple of days. Until my friends come get me. They're doing 'business' nearby."

Mihawk was troubled by Zoros revelation. His friends were the same rebellious sort and their "business" was always something that got into the news. They were in the dining room eating. Zoro chomped on food and mead like he had been in hunger for days.

\- "Why he don't know fae?" Perona was curious. How can a fairy not know fae.  
\- "'Cos my parents were captives and talking fae is outlawed in here."

She looked at him amazed. There was preconditions that had to be met for reproduction to be possible and she couldn't believe they were fulfilled.

\- "Not possible."

Zoro grunted.

\- "It's not so complicated. The man just stick it in and-"  
\- "Zoro, manners." Mihawk cut in.  
\- "Why haven't you explained this to her?" He turned back to Mihawk with great anguish. He wasn't the most suited person for this.  
\- "There was no need to and the topic never crossed my mind."

Mihawk looked at Perona who was juggling possible theories in her head.

_\- "Perona please don't bother yourself with such a thing. Captive born are a rare occurrence. There aren't many aside from Zoro and he's actually a child of captive borns himself so whatever rules apply to fairies don't apply to him."_

An annoyed grunt from Zoro.

\- "How is he different?"  
\- "Well when the fairies who have had their wings cut off reproduce the child comes out more... human. They're still stronger and more sturdy than humans, but they're born without magic and wings. They don't get burned by iron and they do not need long winter rest, though they do sleep more during it compared to summer."

Perona glared at Zoro and the dashed over the table much to everyones surprise. She tugged his robe down and stared at his back before feeling it with her hands. There was no marks of mutilation on him. He didn't even have the back fluff. Perona was slightly disgusted by it.

 _\- "Smooth like a river licked stone. It's disgusting."_  
\- "Hey stop! What is she saying?"  
\- "You don't want to know." Mihawks had covered his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Perona please stop."

She did but not because he had asked her. Perona now rushed to him and as she was going to give him the same treatment, Mihawk pushed her off.

\- "Do not touch my back without permission." He snarled at her while fending her off.  
\- "Is it same? I need to know." She calmed down just a little to speak common.  
\- "It's the same." But his answer wasn't enough, she had to see. "Do not touch."  
\- "Perona, let his back be. He probably has some ugly tattoo he tries to hide."  
\- "Tattoo?"

She let go off Mihawk and moved back to Zoro who started to explain tattoos to her. She did know of tattoos, but wanted to know what kind of tattoos humans got. Mihawk fixed his clothing and excused himself from the table. He was angry. Just as he was about to leave he turned to the both.

\- "Perona, I am courteous to your personal space, so you should be mindful of mine."

Perona became flustered and Zoro had this weird look on his face. Mihawk snorted and left the room.

\-----

Zoros presence was a small blessing to Mihawk. Of course it was troublesome to keep him hidden, but he mostly looked after himself. With him in the house Mihawk could leave the two together knowing that Zoro was fully capable to take care of Perona. And she seemed to enjoy his company. Even if he wasn't fully the same as her, she still seemed to relax in his company. Mihawk was happy for her, but for some reason he found himself jealous too. She was so different with him.

A loud laughter blasted through the house. Zoro and Perona were playing board games while Mihawk tried to get ready for a trip. She had lost once more, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit. She was having so much fun. Mihawk went outside to get Night ready as well. Peronas laughter could be heard even there and he gritted his teeth. She never laughed like that with him.

Mihawk took care in grooming his horse. He felt that he had been neglecting the poor thing. And he had. There had been no daily rides and the poor horse had to spend it's days alone on a field. Maybe he should get another horse. One for Perona.

He shook his head. The idea was stupid. Her departure was approaching faster now. With Zoro here Perona had actually worked lot more on the trees. She enjoyed having Zoro observe her work, Mihawk was too busy actually guarding the surroundings. And Zoros stay had gotten a bit longer. His friends were late, but he didn't mind. He trusted his "captain" to do what was best and if that involved a bit of wait for him so be it.

Mihawk was nearly done grooming Night when Zoro came to him.

\- "Do you have a soft brush?"  
\- "I didn't think you groomed."  
\- "It's not for me." Zoro brushed his hair back with his hand. "It's for Peronas wings."

Mihawk looked surprised. The notion that Peronas wings needed brushing was completely new to him. He had seen her groom her wings every once in a while, but he hadn't thought much about it. She hadn't even asked him for a brush.

\- "Haven't you noticed that they look a bit messy?"  
\- "I haven't." He hadn't thought them messy looking. They were beautiful to him.  
\- "You know having to wear jacket over them messes the fur. Geez you take better care of your horse than her."  
\- "Wouldn't she have asked me if she needed them groomed?" Mihawk was slightly offended by Zoro. He tried his best to make Peronas stay as comfortable as possible.  
\- "I dunno. Maybe she just doesn't like you. All I know is that she can't reach the back of her wings by herself and I offered to brush them for her. Now do you have a soft brush or not."

Mihawk was annoyed. How did he make her uncomfortable? How was Zoro so much better than him? She had been longer with him than Zoro and still she trusted Zoro to touch her wings.

Mihawk grabbed the softest horse brush. He didn't actually have anything softer than that.

\- "Is that good?" He tossed the brush to Zoro.  
\- "We'll see after we try it out." 

Just as he was going to leave he turned back to Mihawk.

\- "You're going somewhere?"   
\- "Just a round to check for hunter activity. I haven't done that in awhile. I'll be back in a couple of days."  
\- "Alright, hmm..." He looked like he was trying to remember something.  
\- "Just go test the brush, Zoro."

Zoro left clearly dropping whatever he was trying to remember. Mihawk sighed and finished grooming Night. He leaned his face against the horse's neck and petted him. It was nice and soothed him down. When calm Mihawk went to see Zoro and Perona. They were right in the middle of grooming her wings. She was laid on the carpet with her eyes closed, clearly enjoying as Zoro brushed her wings. He took long strokes from the root of her wings to the edge. Mihawk took a closer look and it was true that her wings had been messy. The wing that hadn't been touched yet, was a mess. The hairs on it were disheveled, some stuck up and some were crossed and in between was a fine layer of dust. It was still beautiful, but not as pretty as it could be. The other wing on the other hand was a completely different story. None of the hairs stuck up and they all went the same direction. With the hairs in line and the dust removed, all the detail in her wings stood up and the colours looked so much brighter.

And without a word Mihawk turned on his heel and left them be. He was ashamed not to have noticed anything wrong with her wings and he felt betrayed. Why had she not told him? Why did she like Zoro better than him? Was he really that disgusting to her, just because he was a human?

Mihawk stopped. Why was he feeling like this. She was not the first fairy  he had saved, but he had not felt so strongly about any of them. In fact he hadn't felt so strongly towards anyone in a long while.  
He could not bear being near her anymore and after making sure he had everything he might need, he saddled Night and rode off.

Perona on the other hand spun in front of a mirror and adored how the light made her wings glitter. She hadn't even realized how roughed up her wings had been. If Zoro had not mentioned that her wings were messy looking she would have carried on as usual. Zoro had brushed the white outside too and it looked marvelous. She could never get them to look this nice by herself, of course in the coven she had not had to trouble with grooming. It was given that everyone would look after each other and that involved taking care of other peoples wings. Grooming was a great way to spend time with others. Perona fluttered her wings a bit and awed. She had to go show Mihawk. She searched around the house, but could not find him. So she went to Zoro who was laying on a lounge ready to take a nap.

\- "Where is he?" She sat on top of him.  
\- "Who?" He looked miffed.  
\- "Mihawk."  
\- "Went on a stroll. He said he'd be back in a couple of days." Zoro closed his eyes again.  
\- "He said nothing to me."  
\- "Maybe you just didn't listen."  
\- "No. Nothing. He's been more silent."  
\- "I think it's pretty obvious."  
\- "What does 'obvious' mean?" She laid on his chest and started to pet his hair.  
\- "That something is so clear that there is absolutely no doubt of it. What are you doing?" He looked at her annoyed.  
\- "Abso- abs.. I think your hair is nice." She petted it some more. "What is so 'obvious'"  
\- "That Mihawk is jealous. Now get off of me." Zoro closed his eyes again. He was too lazy to actually drive her away. "To be set aside so quickly the moment you see another fairy. Quite cold hearted of you."  
\- "Mihawk is not so uhm..." She looked down his chest trying to find the word.  
\- "Petty? He is just that petty."  
\- "No, he is not." Angrily she pinched Zoros cheeks and rose up.  
\- "Hmph! He was green with jealousy when I asked for the brush." He sat up slightly and started to reach under the lounge. He took out a half filled wine bottle. "Do we have more?"  
\- "How should I know? I don't drink alcohol."  
\- "What? Don't you have those rings where you get absolutely wasted."  
\- "Made up human story. Mushrooms just happen to grow in rings."

She went to take a book that had short stories written by humans. It was given as homework from Mihawk and the stories were interesting enough. Better than some other books he had given her to read. She took a comfortable pose on Mihawks chair.

Mihawk was jealous? Ridiculous.

\-----

There hadn't been much hunter activity near the forest. When he had asked around the local taverns, it was clear that hunters were being careful because there was rumours of Zoro being in the area. This was concerning to Mihawk. These rumours might have already reached the ears of the law and they might start creating more patrols just to find him.

Since it was clear he most likely wouldn't find anything there he decided to go to another town. So he made Night take a steady trot. The darkness shrouded everything and it was easy to go unnoticed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw lights flicker in the woods. He had to stop and take a look. There was indeed lights in the forest. Silently he tied his horse to a tree and went as low as he could. Watching each step he started inching towards them. They were tiny and moved fast. He would have written them off as fireflies, but the pattern they moved in was completely different. One was on the ground and the other in the trees. As he got closer he realized that it was a small mouse and a fairy. They were definitely looking for something. Idiots.

 _\- "Why are you here?"_ Mihawk stayed hidden.  
_\- "Eh, who is it?"_ The fairy looked around spooked.  
_\- "Why are you here?"_  
_\- "My friend went missing and I just want to find something, remains, anything."_  They stuttered looking around.  _"Pink hair and blue wings. Can you help me?"_

Mihawk stood up into his full length looking as least menacing as he could. Both the mouse and fairy shivered with fear.

 _\- "Perona is in my home paying her dept to me. I helped her when she was attacked by humans."_  
_\- "Was she hurt?"_  
_\- "She is fine."_  
_\- "Please let her come home. Everyone's been grieve struck by her disappearance. Her father will not stop crying."_

For a moment Mihawk considered. He could let this fairy come with him and make it tell Perona to go home. But he didn't.

_\- "She will come back home when ready. It won't be too long. Stay out of the edges of the forest. It is dangerous and I do not always safe those who get caught."_

He started to walk away, but the fairy and the mouse quickly got in front of him.

_\- "Return Perona back! She is not yours to keep!"_

Mihawk chuckled. They were right. He was being the bad guy, right now. After all he had said and done he just couldn't let her go yet. He tilted his head so that the light those two were carrying shone on his face. The two stood still and Mihawk could see the fear even in the mouses beady little eyes.

 _\- "You- You're not real. It's not possible."_  
_\- "Very real, I'm afraid. She will come back in one piece, but you do not get to decide when."_

The fairy was pale as a sheet and just nodded. The mouse on the other hand fluffed it's fur a little bit and seemed like it wanted to fight. The fairy grabbed onto it's fur.

 _\- "Kumashi, don't. You can't win the Hawkeyed Fairy."_  
_\- "Extinguish you lights and go home. Perona will come back to you."_

The fairy did as it was told and soon both of them were so deep into the forest Mihawk could no longer see them. He leaned to a tree and took a few deep breaths. This was the first time he had seen a fairy looking for another. Perona had told him they usually didn't search for those who disappeared beyond their borders. It was too dangerous. What was so special about her that this fairy would risk their life just to find her remains?

Mihawk went back to Night and continued his way to town. He felt disgusted in himself for wanting to keep Perona with him for as long as it was possible.

It was so hard to let go once you've fallen in love.

\-----

\- "So how does this dept thing work? You live with Mihawk and he keeps on doing these things for you. How come you're not up to your ears in dept?"

Zoro was carrying water from the well. Perona was inside the coop collecting eggs. She crouched a bit and petted one of the hens. Zoro poked his head in.

\- "You hear me?"  
\- "Yes." She had heard him but didn't really want to answer. "I'll talk more inside."

She collected rest of the eggs and went inside. She started to make an omelet but didn't cook all of them. She was going to bake something nice with the rest. She gave the first omelet to Zoro and looked for his reaction before making hers. Zoro took one bite of his omelet and looked sour.

\- "Too much salt."  
\- "Sorry, you can have mine."  
\- "Naah don't bother." With few big chomps he forced down the omelet and took a big gulp of mead on top of it. "Tell me about the dept."  
\- "Okay, but not a word to Mihawk."

She quickly ate her omelet and started to bake.

\- "We don't really have to pay anything. Nothing forces us to take dept like that. I think as a tradition it's more about survival. This person helped me so if I reward them they'll help me in the future again and tell their friends to help me as well."  
\- "And you think that having an beautiful orchard that attracts visitors is what will make him help you again?"  
\- "He's so reclusive." She sighed. "But no. Back then I was scared. I had been hurt and couldn't turn back to my small size. I needed to somehow make him take care off me until I was fit again. Healing the orchard was what I could do."   
\- "You're fine now and what I've looked you could actually heal the orchard a lot faster."  
\- "Well... I've been stalling."  
\- "Huh? Why? Don't you want to go back and be free again?"  
\- "I do, but there's so many things in the human world that intrigue me."  
\- "Like one dark, tall and handsome land lord?"  
\- "He's a human gross."

Perona stopped her baking and showed Zoro tongue. He chuckled.

\- "Oh. I guess disgust makes you crimsom red."  
\- "Stu-stupid!" Perona held her cheeks rubbing them to make the heat go away, only becoming a lot redder in the process.

Given up, she huffed and concentrated on her baking. She had found a book full of different recipes for food. Pound cake seemed like an easy recipe. Zoro drank mead and watched on as she baked.

\- "Is it really that bad?"  
\- "What? The cake?"  
\- "That he's a human. We're not so different from them."  
\- "Would you marry a human?"  
\- "I'll probably never marry, but yes. If I find the right one."

Perona put some wood in the stove. It wasn't hot enough yet and her mix was ready. As she poured it into a pan, she found fitting to the description in the book, she asked Zoro:

\- "What if I want kids?"  
\- "It's possible."

She nearly dropped her bowl and some of the batter got onto the table. She quickly started to clean it off, but Zoro had taken some giving it a taste.

\- "Good." He hummed. "Did I surprise you?"  
\- "Yes. I didn't think it was possible."  
\- "Did you think humans could keep their hands off of us?"  
\- "No. Some of the visitors have been rather frank with their desire to try me out."  
\- "I know how that feels." Zoro looked solemn. Probably those suggestions had not been left as such.  
\- "Zoro..." She didn't know what to say. He probably felt she was extremely lucky.  
\- "Really most of the captive born are only half fairy. There are full bloods too but they're rarer." Zoro took a long swig of mead and then went to look for something stronger. "Probably both my parents were just halflings, but that's impossible to find out. We're not really allowed to stay with our parents."  
\- "That's cruel."  
\- "Common tactic. Divide and rule. When you have no one to count on you're less likely to rebel."  
\- "Why do you stay here and fight? Wouldn't it be easier to just leave to another country?"  
\- "I did leave and when they say this country is the worst, those other countries aren't that good either. I was in the hands of some thugs, the kind who hunt run-away fairies to sell off. Were easier to catch than true fairies. But I kept fighting and I guess Mihawk saw something in me because after he had saved my group and shown us to safety, he asked if I wanted to become his student. And I could have stayed back in the free cities after he ended tutoring me, but I had the tools to fight and I did. Many who have freed themselves choose to somehow fight back. Be it by pen or brawn. Education gives power to the people."  
\- "That's amazing Zoro. You're amazing."  
\- "Enough about me, when are you going to put that cake in the oven?"  
\- "Pfft!" She huffed and put it in the oven. "Help me do the dishes."  
\- "Naah. I'll go keep a look out for any unwanted guests."

She looked angrily as he left the room and then she became grave. This world was very harsh. And she was lucky to have met Mihawk just like Zoro had been.   
Suddely she started to choke on tears. Because she was torn by her own feelings. She couldn't describe it as love what she had for Mihawk. Maybe she just looked up to him and felt so much gratitude, that the intensity of those emotions made her think she was in love. But the thought of going back to the coven and leaving him alone, hurt her so much. But her being there was a problem for him and it would be impossible to stay, her people needed to know that she was safe.

\-----

The cake came out delicious. Perona and Zoro were eating it in the library. He was looking out of the window and she looked around at the books while munching on a piece. "Fairy Tales" caught her eyes and she recalled the old rhyme of the Hawkeyed Fairy who sold his people to be with the woman he loved. And it made her think. It was possible for fairies and humans to procreate, there was a possibility that Mihawk was partly a fairy. She had tried to look at the history books and there was mentions of one fairy who had betrayed it's own kind. But there was no mentions what happened to the fairy afterwards nor what his name was. Only clue was the rhyme. It implied that the fairy had kept it's wings even after having betrayed his kind. And it stroke a thought in her.

\- "Zoro, are there any halflings born between humans and fairies that have their wings."

Zoro looked outside for awhile thinking how to answer.

\- "I don't know, maybe somewhere, but I haven't met any. Why do you ask?"  
\- "I just wonder that because the cutting of wings is such an altering thing that fullblood children are born without wings or fluff, then maybe a halfling with a fairy parent that has wings, comes out... 'different'."

Zoro looked at her long before sighing.

\- "That goes way over my head." He scratched his ear and then smiled. "Maybe you'll just have to try out."  
\- "Ah eww, no."  
\- "Hah! You and Mihawk could move into a 'better' country and live happily ever after with your weird monster kids."  
\- "No gross, stop. We'll never be like that." She threw a book at him.  
\- "Not even if he wanted to?" He caught it and put it carefully down.  
\- "He wouldn't."  
\- "I think he likes you a lot."  
\- "No he doesn't!" She grabbed a pillow and went to hit him with it.  
\- "Yes he does! He's head over heels in love with you!" He covered his head and kept taunting her.  
\- "No. No. No." She laughed and hit him over and over.

Soon it was a full out pillow war. Them running around the house, using any pillow they got on hand. Until one pillow could not bear the strength it was being hit with. It ripped from the seam and spilled it's content everywhere. And what had been a fun playtime turned to an hour of cleaning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings starting to pour over, heart is such a fickle thing. But she knows better not to trust it. He is just a human after all.

Mihawk didn't really know how he had gotten to this situation.

This gypsy woman just would not let him be. Her hair was red and long and she was rather violently trying to make him buy her trinkets which were all very overpriced. He had glanced just once at her wagon and even that seemed like something he should pay for. She was relentless and noisy. Just like Perona.

The thought of the fairy waiting back at home, made him gloomy and he finally bent to the gypsy's wishes. She showed her wares, all very nice to the eye, but useless. Except for one item. A small brush with a detailed silver handle. He reached for it and tried it against his hand. It was extremely soft and high quality. It looked like it might be a part of a set and after looking around he could find a small hand mirror that had the same detailing.

After exhaustingly bargaining with the woman for an extremely long time he finally got the price down to reasonable. Still high but he wouldn't go broke from buying them. The woman seemed pleased and welcomed him to come back, something he most definitely wouldn't do. As he was continuing the woman rushed after him seemingly something on hear mind. He did not let her catch up to him and kept on going.

He was in a town tracking out any hunter activity. It was not the one he lived nearby, his face was too known there. This one was much larger and more known for it's black markets. Mihawk went to the darker more dangerous alleyways and looked for any bar or tavern where he could find any information. Even in here it was known that Roronoa Zoro was nearby, but there was also other kind of unrest. Something in explainable and low, stirring around him everywhere.

He sat at the back end of a tavern known to provide "services" for traveling salesmen. It was the kind of place where hunters might try to bring their money or merchandise. He had his ears open for specific words hunters used, but non seemed to be there at the moment. A scholarly looking woman with dark hair sat next to him. He did not look at her, not even when she ordered two wines. No use since her face was mostly covered by her hood.

The wines arrived and she took hers drinking some.

\- "Will you not drink yours?" She asked gleefully.  
\- "They water the wine down in these kind of places." He silently said. "Waste of wine and water."  
\- "I drink it to look more like the part. It's so hard sometimes to blend in these places, Hawk Eyes Mihawk."

She took another swig tilting her head in a way that showed her face. He recognized her as one of Zoros companions.

\- "Nico Robin. What brings you to this part of the country?"  
\- "Captains orders. You've been taking care of our fool of a swordsman?"  
\- "He should be starting to complain the lack of wine right about now. Why leave him behind?"  
\- "Something will happen here soon and we needed him as a distraction. Sorry."

The way she apologized was weird and he looked at her. She looked sinister.

\- "You should hurry back home. A rebellious young fairy has broken to your estate and the officials have been informed."

As she said it he nearly knocked over the table rising up as fast as he could. The wine in his glass spilled everywhere and all the patrons turned to look at them, but he did not care. Robin chuckled as he rushed out of the door.

He swore as he fought with Nights saddle. He hadn't planned on leaving so soon so of course he had let them take his horse to the field. He prompted the horse to go straight into canter. He was in a rush and had not time to warm up the poor creature. It would take him three hours to get back home. That was if nothing happened on the way.

As the horse moved forwards Mihawk couldn't stop thinking of what a fool he was. If the officials found Perona and Zoro together they would not feel pity in executing both on the spot. Zoro had chosen that path, but Perona... He had promised she would get home unharmed. And the things they might do to her if they were the wrong type of people. He didn't want to imagine it, but his mind still went there.

\-----

The stars were starting to shine and Perona slapped Zoros hand as he tried to reach for more cake.

\- "Rest is for when Mihawk get's back."  
\- "He might not be back today. Make a new one tomorrow." He yawned loudly.  
\- "No, you've eaten enough. You should go to sleep."  
\- "Nah not yet."  
\- "How can you be sleepy anyway? You nap all day long."  
\- "I think a lot."  
\- "Hardly anything."  
\- "Oi!"

They could hear the sound of hooves hitting the ground far away. Perona tried to look who it was but could not see so far. Zoro pushed her aside readying himself. They waited in silence until they could see that the rider was Mihawk.

\- "Why is he rushing like that?" Zoro was slightly suspicious.  
\- "Who cares. He's back." Perona turned to go greet him.  
\- "Wait." He pressed her into a halt. "Somethings off. I'll go first." He left to the stairs and Perona slowly inched towards them as well.

Mihawk jumped off his horse and Zoro came to the yard and greeted him.

\- "Hey why are you in such a rush? Did something hap-"

Mihawk greeted him back with his right hook. Zoro toppled onto the ground with blood gushing out of his nose.

\- "I let you into my house and this is how you repay me!?" Mihawk was furious and grabbed him by the front of his clothes.  
\- "Wh-what? I don't-" Zoro was confused by the sudden assault.  
\- "WHERE IS PERONA!?" Mihawk lifted his fist to hit again.  
\- "I'm right here!"

Mihawk turned to look at Perona. She was horrified at the scene before her and held onto the doorjamb. He dropped Zoro and went straight to her. She backed off a bit as he got to her.

\- "Are you hurt?" He looked her over, but did not see any sign of physical damage done to her.  
\- "I'm fine, but why did you do that to Zoro?" She looked at him confused.  
\- "The officials, they haven't been here?" And he was just as confused.  
\- "What damn officials?" Zoro grunted as he wobbled back up.  
\- "Zoro why are you here really?"  
\- "I was supposed to keep you here so you wouldn't meddle into our business. It would only damage your reputation."  
\- "Nico Robin said she had tipped of the authority."  
\- "She has not. It was something they were supposed to say if they saw you on spot."

Mihawk felt anger to have been fooled like that, but then a sudden rush of relief. He looked at Perona, but could not say anything nor move. He wanted to hold her and his hand rose, but he could not bring himself to touch her.

She looked at the worry and hesitation in him. His hands shook and chest went up and down with his erratic breathing. She could not quite understand the talk of authority, but she did know that he was in desperate need of her. She silently pressed herself against him closing her eyes and he could not stop himself from holding her. He pressed several kisses on top of her head and she could feel him gradually calm down. Finally he released her.

\- "I feared they might have hurt you or worse..." He smoothed her hair.  
\- "I'm fine, no-ones been here. Come inside I've made some cake and we can boil some tea with it." She took his hand and started to lead him inside.  
\- "I can't, Night-"  
\- "Zoro will take care of him."

Zoro gave her one nasty glance and held onto his nose. Finally he just nodded and went to calm down the horse that had gotten slightly spooked by the event.

When Zoro got inside Mihawk had clearly regained his senses. He and Perona were sitting in the parlour and Mihawk was extremely pissed off. He had removed his armour and other equipment and wore his casual outfit. He had not touched the piece of cake nor drank his tea. Perona was a slight bit nervous and took little sips off of her cup.

Zoro reached out and gave Mihawk his saddle back. He threw it next to his seat nonchalant and gestured Zoro to sit.

\- "Now you tell me what your little group is exactly up to." Mihawks voice was intimidating and Perona flinched a bit.  
\- "Were going to take down a big name in the hunters and we can't have you get tangled into it. People are already suspicious of you, so if you moved in the area while things went down... Things are going to change in this country a bit by bit and we'll need you to be able to keep on doing what you have been doing so far. 'Dracule' is an old revered name and we need that influence."  
\- "You didn't think to mention to me that I should stay at home?"  
\- "I was distracted by Perona. Wasn't planning to meet an actual fairy in your home."  
\- "What effect will this project of yours have here?"  
\- "Someone might ask you something, but mostly it will show as more patrols and the lessened amount of new captives. And there will be no harm to Perona, we would never tip the officials."  
\- "That's enough for now. Go get yourself cleaned up."

Disgruntled Zoro left the room touching his swollen nose lightly flinching with pain.

\- "I propably broke his nose." Mihawk sighed and finally took a sip of his tea.  
\- "He sort of deserved it." Perona felt a bit bad for saying it. She too was fooling Mihawk.

Mihawk looked at her and his eyes softened, which made her heart flutter.

\- "Have you had fun while I've been gone?"  
\- "Yes, I've learned quite a lot of new things from him. And I've been reading the book you gave me."

Mihawk smiled a little and seemed to relax listening her explain about what they had been doing. He was pleased to hear how her common had improved as she had been forced to use it with Zoro. He ate a bit of the pound cake and Perona looked at him shyly.

\- "Is it good?"  
\- "Very."  
\- "It is isn't it. I found a cooking book and decided to try it out." She was happy that he liked it and then she looked down at her tea. "Maybe we could make something together?"  
\- "I would like that."  
Perona smiled brigthly at him.

As they were going to bed Perona tugged on Mihawks sleeve lightly.

\- "Do you mind if I sleep in your room tonight?"

He had no objections and actually felt relieved to be able to keep her near. He was going to empty his closet when she bounced on his bed. The time Zoro had been there she had slept on the same bed as him. Sleeping with someone made her feel safe and no one made her feel safer than Mihawk. She fell asleep quickly and he closed his eyes to listen to her breathing calmly. And not too soon he was deep asleep as well.

\-----

Very early in the morning Zoro's group hastily came by. Their leader had been severely beaten up, but was smiling. They were packed into a couple of wagons. One of the wagons was steered by the red haired gypsy. She had a shit eating grin and winked to Mihawk when she saw Perona. Robin chuckled at Zoros swollen nose and Mihawk staring coldly down at her.  
They all marvelled the beauty of Peronas wings and were happy to hear that she would soon go back home. She gave Zoro a hug and a kiss on the cheek and the group cheerfully left to cause mayhem somewhere else.

Soon after an officer of the army came to question Mihawk of his where abouts and if he knew anything about the town and events that had gone down there. He mentioned Straw Hat Luffy several times and after he was gone Mihawk said that the boy was a scary force of nature and would change a lot of things.

The house felt a bit emptier now that Zoro was gone and she knew she would miss him dearly at some point, but right now she was happy to spend the rest of her stay with just her and Mihawk there.

Later that day Mihawk was doing a little bit of inventory and sighed heavily when he saw the destruction Zoro had caused to his wine reserves. He set down the small list he had done and then looked at Perona who was trying her best to read a book and not stare at every movement he made. She wanted to converse this fluttery feeling she had, but feared he might laugh at her. There was no guarantee that he liked her back. Mihawk sighed heavily again and sat on his chair.

\- "Perona, I met someone while I was gone."

She shot up. Humans were so flimsy and unpredictable. Good that she had not confessed to him.

\- "They were from your coven, looking for you."  
_\- "My- How- They shouldn't be!"_ There was nothing special about her at all, but then she paled. "One of our elders chose me."  
_\- "Chose you?"_  
_\- "Me as his follower. It had been so ridiculous at the time. I didn't know he actually meant it."_  
\- "You?"  
\- _"I'm one of our strongest wood molders. My main duty was molding the trees into livable places. I'm not good at taking care of your trees just because I'm a fairy. Many can't even begin to understand them. They're so vast your mind can get lost for good. I just never thought I was that important to the coven."_

She felt homesick knowing that her coven missed her.

\- "They asked me to bring you back, but I told them you would be back after you're done with the debt." He felt remorse for telling her this, but she had to know.  
\- "You did right."  
\- "How?"  
\- "Now they'll know that I'm fine and won't be searching me for nothing."  
\- "But don't you want to be back at your coven as soon as possible?"  
\- "No, I want- I want..." She was stuttering and he looked at her expectantly. "I want to take care of all the trees in the orchard." She could not say she wanted to be there because of him.

Mihawk smiled and left to his room. He came back quickly holding something in his hands.

\- "I thought you might like these." He gave her the small silver hand mirror and brush.  
\- "Thank you. They're beautiful." She looked at the beautiful detailing and went over them with her fingers. The brush felt as soft as Puremas coat had.  
\- "I know Zoros not here anymore to brush your wings, but I'm certain you can take them back to your coven."

He felt awkward. He'd never given a woman gifts to court them and he definitely shouldn't court her, but he wanted to shower her with gifts. He looked for a moment as she tenderly examined the items, looked at herself through the mirror putting a strand of hair behind her ear. Her neck was so delicate and the skin was creamy white all the way down to her breasts that moved lightly as she breathed. He blushed slightly and was relieved as she started to test out the brush on her wings effectively blocking his view.

He was going to leave her to it when she said his name so tenderly it nearly made his heart stop.

\- "Mihawk."

He turned to look at her as acknowledgement. She looked at him coy.

\- "Do you- Will you brush my wings?" She asked of him and sat side ways so that her back was towards him.  
\- "You want me to?"

She nodded and took her hair over her shoulder revealing all of her back to him.

He sat behind her and she gave him the brush. Carefully he started to brush her wings the way he had seen Zoro do it. The hair on them felt silky, but hard. He did his best to memorize that feeling, because he didn't know if he would get to feel them again, if this was just a moment of weakness she had. She seemed to enjoy his brushing a great deal. After he was done with one wing, he caressed her back fluff which felt nearly the same as on her wings, but it was definitely more softer. As his fingers gently stroked her skin, she slightly arched her back with his movement and breathed out deeply.

Had she been like this with Zoro too?

He brushed her other wing with the same amount of dedication to detail as with the first one. Next he would brush the white bottom, but stopped to look at the side of her neck that was revealed. And she looked so vulnerable to him. She trusted him with all her being. He could see her eyes were closed and she looked relaxed, but somehow she was also tense. The long pause he was having was making her nervous and excited. She felt ashamed for wanting more.

He gave the top edge of her wing a long stroke before gently pushing it down revealing more of her slender neck and shoulder to him.

He leaned near her and breathed out. She flinched when she felt his warm breath against her skin, but did not turn nor make a noise. Instead she slowly tilted her head giving him more access. He caressed her back again and slowly went all the way to her hip gently holding her there. She did not move, but he felt her tensing her muscles ever so slightly, her breathing becoming a bit more shallow. He pressed his head bit closer to her nearly kissing her ear and her wings shook nervously.

\- "Perona."

His voice was deep and felt so hot against her ear, she trembled. The way her name rolled off his tongue felt so good. She squeezed her eyes even more shut and a soft blush rose on her cheeks.

\- "I love you."

He didn't mean to go so far, but the moment felt so right with the tenderness and sensuality of it. He would surely regret this later, but to hell with it all. Right now he just wanted to be hers, if she just let him. And she gasped when she heard his words. His voice had never been so soft, she felt she might have just broken him. He surely had broken her. She opened her eyes and turned just a bit to see him. His eyes were still sharp, but they were also soft. He meant what he had said. He loved her and she could see it in him. But she was wary and wanted to be sure it wasn't just the moment of it.

\- "I'm a fairy and you're a human."  
\- "I know I shouldn't, but I still do."

He closed his eyes and gently kissed her neck making her jolt, but she relaxed quickly. With trembling voice she continued:

\- "I'll have to leave."  
\- "I know. Let me be yours the short time we have left."

He kissed her neck again. She smelled so sweet. He kissed the nape of her neck where the once shaven tuft was now growing back. And she moaned arching her neck backwards so that her head leaned against his shoulder. He kissed her jaw and neck. He sucked on her collarbone and fondled her stomach with his free hand. She moved up and turned, her back still mostly towards him and the pose was uncomfortable, but she could not care. She pecked his lips lightly and looked deep into his eyes.

He did not need a verbal answer anymore. That look was enough to tell him how he made her feel, that she too was in love. He kissed her deeply grasping her belly with his arms, pulling her closer. It was awkward because her wings were on the way and he had to be careful of them. She kissed him back, broke for air and kissed some more. Clumsily she tried to turn to face him, but her other wing didn't quite listen to her and she ended up slapping his face with it.

Stunned silence.

She looked at him horrified, but he just started to laugh. His laughter sounded so sweet to her and she couldn't help but laugh as well.

\- "Your wing thinks I should restrain myself."  
\- "Maybe you should." She snickered and blushingly added _"My love."_

She cupped his cheeks and kissed him again straddling him. It was unbearable for him as she hadn't lifted her dress at all to allow such pose comfortably. So now her dress was tightly pressing against him at the most inopportune place. He held her by the hips still holding on to the silvery brush and tried to somehow communicate how uncomfortable he was becoming without breaking the mood completely. She pulled her dress up and he groaned into her lips, as it no longer pressed to his groin. This moan she took as a sign that he wanted to move further which she frankly didn't mind at all. He was handsome, warm and right now she couldn't think of anyone else she would want to share her body with, so she grinded against him and her hands wondered on his chest, then abdomen and inside his shirt, but he stopped her. He panted and looked into her eyes. Dark and deep, he knew she wanted it too, but he could not. Mihawk kissed her lightly holding her hands in his.

\- "I'm sorry, but not tonight."

Perona understood and smiled gently. There was something sore about his back that he was not comfortable sharing with her just yet and she would not force him to do so. He might in time or maybe never, but it was alright with her. She leaned into him and hugged him, softly caressing his hair.

\- "There's still the outsides of my wings that need to be brushed."  
\- "Isn't this a bit awkward position?"  
\- "I'm sure you can reach."

He laughed once more and she closed her eyes enjoying how his chest shuddered.

\-----

With each passing moment she felt that their love for each other grew. It made her warm and fussy and he too seemed to be brighter. Being loved and in love made them forget all the worries they had. Of course they were still being careful not to have her secret exposed, but it came out natural to them by now. It was the two of them, warm summer days and the orchard.

The orchard that was nearly done.

Perona did her best to stall, but everytime she neared the orchard the few trees that had not been dealt with were starting to fill with jealousy and trees were powerful creatures not to be trifled with. Because where ever their roots reached they found her and reached into her mind, tugging at her screaming for her attention. They were powerful and persistant. Soon she spend most of her time upstairs. Anywhere else she would get nauseos and had nearly lost something of herself fighting back the trees. Her gloom and sickness worried Mihawk, but she couldn't tell him the reason.

Because finishing her work meant that the dept was paid and she would go home. She wanted to stay with him, but didn't want to tell him her lie, in fear that he would hate her. And she feared that he would make her go once she was finished, though she did know he loved her. She did her best, but it didn't take long till she couldn't fake feeling well any longer.

\- "I have to heal the trees quick." She layed her head on his lap. He slowly caressed her hair as he had been reading a book out loud for her.  
_\- "Is that what has been making you sick? The trees."_  
\- "They're relentless and wont let me be. I'm sorry."  
_\- "What for? You promised to make the orchard good again."_  
\- "I didn't want to leave so soon."

Tears started to form in her eyes, but she wiped them off before they could fall and began to rub her temples. Crying made her head hurt. Mihawk set his book aside and softly caressed her forehead feeling for any fewer.

 _\- "Are you strong enough to heal the rest today?"_ He smoothed her bangs.  
\- "You want me gone already?" She blinked her eyes.  
_\- "You think I would be capable of driving you away?"_ He shook his head. "Why are you here Perona? For the orchard?"  
\- "For you."  
_-"And I want you to be with me as long as possible."_

She did not stay here for the orchard, it was for him, and she hadn't realized it needed to be said. That she wanted to be here as much as he wanted her to stay there. That her fear and pain had been pointless all along.

\- "I want to stay here with you." She smiled pure joy and love, reaching out to softly caress his chin with her finger. "Let's go heal those trees so that no more time is wasted being sick."

She kissed him and with feeble steps she went to put on her jacket. It was still daylight so anyone might come, but she wanted to be done with the horrible trees. When she set foot on the ground floor she could feel the rage of the trees and her step faltered. Mihawk was right behind her and picked her up. The sound of the trees was quieted by him completely. They could not reach her through him.

\- "Please, carry me to the trees."

The trees were disgruntled and angry, but they took her apologies. Not many know, but trees are big softies at heart. They love life and love itself, so they could not stay angry after hearing her reasoning. But they did call her stupid a lot.  
Mihawk held her all the time it took her to heal the trees. His stand was steady and he didn't seem to struggle at all. He vigilantly kept look, it was his duty.

 _\- "Are you not tired? I must be heavy."_ She asked him feebly when he was carrying her back inside.  
\- "You're light as a kite." He smiled warmly.  
\- "What is 'a kite'?"

And he laughed.

\-----

The nights were getting colder. They had decided she would go in a week otherwise she would not have time to prepare for winter or for the possible negative reaction her people might have. It was not certain that they would happily just let her back anymore. Mihawk knew that since he had posed as the Hawkeyed Fairy, they could very well turn on her. He was scared to tell her this since that fairy was the biggest boogeyman of her people and even she might turn against him.

Perona on the other hand was mostly scared of the winter. She would have nothing in stock for it when she returns. Mihawk promised to give her enough preserved food to make it through which made her more at peace. Main problem was getting it all back to the cove, but he had promised he would escort her as far as was possible.

It was the last full moon before winter rest and she was enjoying it to the fullest.

 _\- "Full moon is good on the skin."_ She turned to Mihawk who was reading a book in the light of a candle. She skipped and blew the fire off, grumpily he looked at her. _"Just the Moon."_ She started to take her clothes off and he looked away.  
\- "Stop. Someone might see you."  
_\- "You'll keep guard. And I can be small, if it'll keep your desires at bay."_ She sneered and started to morph to a smaller size.  
\- "Don't." He took her hand and held it gently. "You can keep that size. I'll keep guard."

He looked into her eyes and she into his. He shivered slightly under her eyes. There was something more in them than just love. Something strong and old. But she soon broke away and went off to dance. The moonlight felt so good against her skin as she danced through the orchard and the apple trees danced with her. The dance turned wilder and wilder. She was in ecstasy. Suddenly her whole being was filled with the thought of Mihawk. Him dancing with her, the moonlight shining on his skin. Those eyes dark and lustful as he would take her right there and then. His skin tightly against hers as they would fulfill their love.  
Her eyes were large and she panted. She had never felt the calling of the last full moon, also mockingly called as the "Coupling Moon" by her people.  
She looked at Mihawks direction. Moonlight was just as beautiful on his skin as she had thought and his eyes sparkled as he looked at her dance mesmerized by the wildness and beauty of it. Silently and smoothly she moved to him, like a wild cat to it's prey and he could not take his eyes off of her. She pulled his hand making him rise up and lay off the book.

\- "Dance with me." She took hold of both of his hands.  
\- "I do not know how. I should just keep a look out." He looked away from her, but kept holding her hands  
\- "You're doing a bad job."  
\- "I know."

Perona laughed and Mihawk finally looked back at her.

\- "Your dance is so beautiful. I would only ruin it." He whispered softly and just hearing him made her want to die.

And without a warning her wings took a couple of strong strokes and she pressed her lips against his tying her arms around his neck. With a bit of force she tried to make him fall on the ground with her, but he kept on standing firmly. She had to be careful not to break his neck as she tried her best to pull him down to the ground.

\- "This is not wise." He said to her between kisses. He took a hold of her waist feeling how soft her skin was.  
_\- "It is right."_ Her eyes were so large and dark he could drown into them. He caressed her hair and kissed her fewerishly. Everything about her called him. But he had to break off.  
\- "No."  
_\- "Yes."_

Her hands tucked on his dress shirt and Mihawk could hear the back of it start to rip.  
He pushed her away with enough strength to make her stagger. She looked scared and betrayed, but was astonished by the look on his face. His eyes darkened by the mutual feeling of lust, but they were also fearful and hurt. He was shaking and grabbing onto his shirt. He squeezed his eyes shut and backed away from her. Perona gently went to him and carefully she caressed his arms.

 _\- "I'm sorry, do you not want?"_  
\- "I wan't to, but I'm afraid you'll not want me."  
_\- "But I do."_ Gently she caressed his cheeks and looked deep in his eyes.  
\- "Not when you know whose descendant I am."  
\- "The Hawkeyed Fairy."

He looked at her surprised and she just scoffed.

 _\- "It wasn't really too hard to figure out. You only confirmed it."_  
\- "And you still- Perona, he killed your people near extinction. He's the main reason your written language has disappeared!"  
\- "It's not your fault!"  
\- "He is my ancestor!"

Perona clasped onto his head and looked him straight in the eyes.

_\- "Fool! You're not responsible for what some ancient old fart did ages ago. Now you tell me everything that you're hiding because of shame, fear or what ever stupid reason."_

And Mihawk looked at her his eyes wide, lower lip trembling. He wanted to say something back, but couldn't. There was still so much she didn't know. And he feared her reaction. But the time had come to tell her.

\- "I need to show you something."

He took her hand and led her to the writing room. There he moved the carpet away and removed a couple of floor boards. Hidden under them was a locked water-proof chest. He lifted the chest onto his table and took a key from one of the drawers. Carefully he opened the lock to reveal several ancient looking books.

\- "His diaries."  
\- "Hawkeyed Fairys?"  
\- "Yes. The first ones are in fae and I haven't been able translate them."

He opened one and sure enough it was full of scriblings she had called good luck symbols. Mihawk took another one. There was crude writing in common.

\- "The rest is written in common. He understood that his children would not be taught fae and he wanted us to be able to understand his reasonings and the trouble he would face with his wife."  
\- "Trouble?"  
\- "The things he had to do to his children."

He took one of the diaries, flipped it's pages and started to read.

\- "Our first child is born. A gorgeus daughter with eyes and wings like mine. She has the same skull marking, but her wings feel slightly different from mine. Warmer and fleshier. More human. Oddly unlike other half fairies she does not have our ears. I love those round little mouse ears of hers."

He flipped several pages forward.

\- "We couldn't keep the wings hidden for long and my in-laws have demanded they be cut off. My wife has been crying so much her health has turned worse. She fears for the life of our child as do I. We cannot burn the stumps with iron. My dear Vaella is resistant to it. She has shown slight magical abilities and I fear she will loose those too among her wings."

He flipped a couple of pages forward.

\- "Vaella suffered long from the complications. We tried burning her with hot iron, but she still lost too much blood and the wounds on her back got infected and her fewer rose so high she could not bear it. This is not right."

Mihawk looked at Perona. He looked worn and unshaken. He'd read them over and over. Perona was shocked. She took a seat and hugged herself. Mihawk had picked another diary and was flipping the pages.

 _\- "Why?"_ Perona whimpered.  
\- "He could not let his wings go." Mihawks voice was cold.  
_\- "But the suffering. He had chosen that path. Surely-"_  
\- "My wife has begged me to cut my wings off." Mihawk cut in. "She does not understand. I do grieve for our poor little Vaella, but I cannot let my wings go. They are what makes me what I am. I did not fight for the right to keep them to cut them off myself. They're part off me. My freedom. I rather not reproduce than have my wings taken from me."  
\- "Still he did?"  
\- "Apparently the calling of a full moon was so strong that he forced himself upon his wife. How could she fend against a fairy man when even a human male could kill their woman so easily. It's disgusting to read his excuses."  
_\- "Coupling Moon is a real thing."_  
_\- "Coupling Moon?"_  
_\- "The last full moon before winter rest just awakens a primal need in adult fairies. Of course you need to have someone you feel strongly about. A close friend, rival, anything goes, but it doesn't awaken towards close relatives. That way the children are born during spring when the mother doesn't have to worry about the winter yet nor is there any discomfort during carrying the child since you're asleep most of the time."_  
\- "It's tonight?"  
_\- "Yes. It doesn't excuse what he did, it's a crime among fairies as well. I just mean it's a real thing."_

Mihawk sighed. Perona felt ashamed to have succumbed to the moons calling like that. She had been so thoughtless and now Mihawk might never want her again. Or love her.

\- "Jonah is allowed to grow bigger and stronger than Vaella. The grandparents want him to survive since he is a boy. My wife hasn't touched him since he was born. She is too scared to get attached." He flipped forward. "Jonah is showing talent for flying and magic. He cannot become small so his wings are more stronger and sturdier than mine at that age. It's a shame. He'll thank me later."

\- "He seems to be surviving this. We hired a surgeon known to keep his mouth shut. The wounds on his back are healing well and his back will look like a humans aside from the fluff."

\- "Jonah doesn't want to see me anymore. If he even catches a glimpse of my wings he remembers his own. His magical abilities haven't manifested anymore as well. My wife has started to dote on him. She refuses to acknowledge me. Our love was so strong once. Now it's been replaced with loathing."

Mihawk sat down on his desk and he shook slightly out of anger. Perona felt cold. Mihawk looked at her shiver and rose up.

\- "I'll get you a blanket."  
\- "You still love me?"  
\- "Why wouldn't I?"  
\- "Because I nearly-"  
\- "You weren't even close to forcing me. I do want you in that way, but there are things I fear."

He left and returned with a blanket he put over her. Perona looked at her feet and clutched at the soft fabric.

\- "Did his family love him ever again?"  
\- "They learned to. They had another daughter who died of decease before she could marry."

He returned to his desk to read again.

\- "My grandchild is malformed. What would have been wings are grotesque imitations. Sticks with hair that wiggle as the child rehearses flying, but will never do. In my own creed I have cursed my children, their children and most likely all in my line. The skull on my back is an ill omen. It disgusts me to look at the thing on this childs back as well. They're showing minor magical ability which will end after they go through the procedure."

Mihawk was going to read more, but Perona feebly whimpered from her seat:  
\- "Don't read them anymore. I understand now."

Perona knew what truly scared Mihawk. The potential child being malformed so badly it needed it's wings cut off to appear at least human and he too most likely had some mark on his back even though there were several generations in between.

She rose from her seat tying the blanket around herself. She went to Mihawk who was looking down at the diaries his hand in a tight fist shaking with anger and frustration. She probably was the only one he had shared this information with. She leaned down to hug him. He relaxed slightly and she whispered to him.

\- "You'll have to be pretty damn ugly under that shirt to be able to disgust me."

Mihawk chuckled bitterly and pressed his face against her shoulder.

\- "Show me. I promise I'll still want you even after." Perona whispered soothingly.  
\- "Don't make promises you can't keep." He mumbled against her shoulder.

She backed off slightly and looked at him with that same determination she had had back at the forest when they first met. And he felt reassured, that her words were true and he had nothing to fear. He took her hand and kissed it. Then he softly kissed her on the cheek before whispering:

\- "I love you."

She squeezed his hand and kissed him gently.

They held hands as they went to his bedroom. Perona stayed behind to close the door as Mihawk started to remove his shirt. The full moon shone pale through the window. It was still captivating to her, but not as much as the man before her slowly slipping his shirt off. He dropped it on the floor looked at her hesitant as she went to him. Calmly she wrapped her arms around his hip and rested her head against his bare chest.

Mihawk took deep steady breaths. With her hands on his hips Perona prompted him to turn. Trembling he turned and hugged himself. She looked at his back. It was mostly covered with dark brown tuft. In between his shoulder blades was cream coloured fluff that grew in a shape that looked like a skull. And where wings would have been growing were four nubs covered with dark brown hair. She wouldn't describe them as disgusting, but they weren't exactly attractive either. They just kind of were and would have probably looked lot worse without the fluff and hair. But the longer she looked the more she started to like his back. The skull was at first off putting but then it became more intriguing and the small nubs started to look sort of cute.

Mihawk didn't know how to take her silence. Was she disgusted by him? Or maybe scared? He was nervous to even look, but then he felt Perona press a kiss in the middle of his back right where that disgusting skull was. He shivered when she ran her fingers through the hair on his back. When she carefully touched one of the nubs, the remnants of muscles twitched and she giggled. Giggled?

He turned to look at her somewhat offended. How dared she laugh at his shame? Ridicule him when he had shown her his vulnerable side. When he had had trusted her promise. But her smile had no sign of mockery, just love for him. And she hugged him purposefully caressing his back not minding which part her fingers touched. She was not disgusted at all.

_\- "I once whined to my nan, that I could not see the inside of my wings. That I was jealous to the people who complimented how beautiful my blue wings are, because they could see fully of what I could only catch glimpses of. She told me that the insides of our wings are the surface we show to people and that the outside of our wings are who we really are. After that I've loved the white bottom of my wings more than the gorgeous blue inside."_

\- "I don't understand." He still looked at her confused. What was she aiming at?

_\- "Your back is the outside of your wings. The inside is this lone wolf lord who is tough and needs nothing and your outside is this soft vulnerable man, who just wants to make this world a better place. Mihawk, your back is so very much you, I can't help but love it."_

He looked at her with his mouth open.  
Then a tear.  
Another one.  
And soon he was sobbing like a small child and he embraced her. Soothingly she caressed his back enjoying the feeling of relief that was coming out of him like a waterfall. Emotions he had kept in himself so long. The fear that he would never find anyone who would understand. Who would love. That he was truly cursed by his ancestors deed, done so long ago.

His emotions were so strong that even if he tried supporting himself against her, he could not stay upright and fell on his knees gently guided by her. And she petted his hair as he strongly pulled her into an even tighter embrace than before. She did not mind the slight discomfort he caused her, right now it was important to let him freely let go of all that hurt. He would still be hurt afterwards, but this was something that would help him heal. And he wailed and sobbed, words getting stuck to his throat, the need to somehow explain to her why he was crying like this. She shushed him while caressing his hair. She said that no words were needed and closed her eyes.

Mihawk looked at Perona shocked. He could feel her in all of his being and needed no words to explain anything. Because she was right there. When he as a boy got thrown with stones by the pond. When a girl he had loved had given his back one glance and then laughed mockingly. When pouring himself to whores would not make him less lonely. When he had first met Zoro, malnourished and fire in his heart. The countless times he had been too late and held the sobbing fairies in his arms. When he let his enemies feel all of his frustration. When he saw the men grabbing Perona ready to cut her wings. When he had been annoyed by her constant curiosity. When he felt jealous of her. When he had posed as his ancestor to scare off the fairy and the mouse. When he had wanted to keep her all for himself. When he had feared for her life and mind. When he didn't trust that she could love all of him.

She knew all of it and forgave him.

And like a warm ocean wave he could feel all of her being. When she had been small and cried as her first mouse passed away. When she had been scared that the Hawkeyed Fairy would snatch her away. When her nan had made her love her ghostly white outside of her wings. When she nearly lost herself connecting with a tree. When an elder took her as their pupil. When she laughed at the old warnings. When she carelessly went to look for humans. When she fooled him to take care of her. When she feared he would betray her. When she missed her coven, but chose her curiosity instead. When her loathing of him started to turn into friendship and then to love. When she had felt kinship with Zoro. When she had been ashamed to be so aroused by him just brushing her wings. When she realized that she could never fall in love with anyone, but him.

Then it was all over.

Perona fell on her knees, eyes still closed, sweat pearls shining on her skin. She was out of breath as she started to laugh. And he looked at her with joy, love, passion and lust.

He caressed her cheek and slipped down the blanket that had been covering her body. His hands caressed the outside of her wings, slightly squeezing the edges. Her laughter died down and turned into moans as he kissed her clavicle, teased her nipples with his fingers and ran his fingers through her soft pink hair. She forced him to kiss her lips. He ran his hands against her thighs and round bottom, marveling at how smooth they were. He went back to teasing her breasts, gently squeezing them and rubbing the tips with his thumbs.

She caressed his cheeks enjoying the perfectly shaved beard. She ran her fingers through his hair down to the fluff on his back. He broke off and groaned as she traced he bottom of the lumps of flesh. Strangely it felt arousing, sort of a tingling feeling. He pressed her down on the carpet careful not to be too rough as to not hurt her wings. He kissed and licked her from her ear, down her neck to her jugular notch which he sucked on lightly. He moved even lower to kiss her breast, sucking on them and enjoyed her soft mewls that she could not stop. He caressed her stomach and she moved her hands up completely lost in the pleasure he was giving her. Stopping his sweet assault, he rose up from her breasts and she protested slightly by whining. He looked at her trembling form and smirked.

She opened her eyes slightly and looked on as he rubbed her thighs with both his hand. He ran his fingers smoothly through the pastel pink hair between her legs. She shivered as he repeated the movement. Finally she bucked her hips when his teasing had gone on for too long. He laughed softly and touched her nub with the tip of his finger. She moaned closing her eyes. She blushed at her own reaction to such a light touch, but then shook as he lightly rubbed her again. He tried her opening with one of his fingers and chuckled as she was so aroused and ready. He dipped his finger into her juices and rubbed it against her clit. The lubrication heightened her pleasure making her moan loudly.

Finally it paid off to listen in on the lascivious talks of the womanizers in the dirty taverns and whore houses.

He looked at her face deep red from arousal and anxiety. Her lips trembled as she moaned. He rubbed a spot that made her other leg twitch involuntarily. It made him chuckle and she laughed a bit embarrassed for not being able to stop her body. His touches were making her feel so good. A warm feeling was pooling into her stomach as he continued rhythmically teasing her. He eased a bit and gently caressed the lips of her womanhood by running his fingers over it.

At the same time he fumbled his pants open releasing his member hissing as the cool night air hit it.

He pushed one finger inside her and then a second. As he moved them in and out of her in a steady rhythm, he started to rub himself matching the speed. Seeing him touch himself while giving her pleasure made the warm tight feeling in her stomach grow exponentially. Soon Perona arched her back moaning loudly and fluttered her wings as she became undone. Wave of cool air hitting his skin made him grip himself a bit tighter and as her walls clenched against his fingers, he nearly came as well.

Mihawk stopped to kiss her and he lifted her up on his lap. She grabbed onto his erection imagining the feeling of guiding it inside of her, but knew that he did not want to. Instead she rubbed him as they kissed. He moaned and caressed her skin and wings until he was so close to climax, he had to make her stop and raise her arms around his neck. He took hold of her bottom and carried her to the bed. He laid her down on it and kicked off his pants as she looked at his perfectly sculpted body and his throbbing erection standing proudly.

Mihawk gently grasped her legs pushing them open. He looked at her body and she felt like he might burn her with his eyes. She closed her eyes blushing even deeper red and covered herself with her hands. A low chuckle towards her sudden shyness, he leaned down to kiss her and gently remove her arms.

\- "Why this sudden shyness? Your body is beautiful."  
\- "The way you're looking at it... The things you're doing... It feels too good. You'll burn me alive. Ahh!"

Mihawk had pressed her hand against his erection and she was certain it felt hotter than before.

\- "Perona, you're burning me."

He lifted her hand to his lips and when he let it go she would not try to hide herself anymore. Locking his eyes with hers he started to tease her entrance with his fingers, prepping her to another orgasm. Her mouth opened slightly and she breathed heavily. She caressed his arms and felt the tightness in her built up again. As he felt that she was close to the edge, he climbed on top of her pressing his length against her wet slit. Her eyes grew slightly wider at the feel of it, but she did not break eye contact. She wanted him to know how much pleasure he was giving her right now even if he would not enter her. He was careful not to lean onto her wings with his arms as he let his body press against hers trusting that the soft mattress would keep her wings unharmed. She smiled at the feeling of his skin slick with sweat pressing against her. She kissed him and he started to slowly move against her, careful not to have the tip of his member anywhere near her wet entrance.

Mihawk moaned weakly. He had not been prepared how good it would feel to do this with Perona. The hot wetness of her womanhood, her aroused whimpers as he slid against her in a steady rhythm. The way she looked at him with half-lidded lustful eyes. Not being able to stand it he pressed his face in the mattress muffling his low grunts and moans. He was never this vocal when having sex, but something about her made his inhibitions disappear.

But she forced him back up to face her and feverishly kissed him. Every time he gasped for air she pulled him into a new kiss until she could no longer from her own gasping and mewling.

And as she went over the edge she cried his name, her voice breaking mid way, wings shaking violently. Her moans were so sweet to him and he kissed the edge of her lips whispering her name back to her which made her smile on pure bliss. A sharp thrust of his hips and a low pleasured grunt as he spilled his seed between them.

\- "I love you."

Mihawk looked at her eyes wide open and still gasping for air, moaning as another wave of pleasure hit him. Perona caressed his cheek with shaking fingers and repeated those wonderful words again.

\- "I love you. _Only you. I love you._ "

She kept on murmuring the words over and over in both of the languages that she knew. Her smile grew into a grin and tears started to spill from her eyes. And he kissed those tears away starting to murmur the same way as she did.

\- " _I love you._ I love you."

After their post-coital bliss wore off he lifted himself up and went to get a towel. He cleaned his cum off of her apologizing for the mess, which made her giggle. It was absurd that he would apologize that she had made him feel so good. She carefully laid on her belly. Her legs felt weak and her wings tingled. She made a couple of large beats to stretch her wings after having them under such stress. Fairies didn't usually to make love laying on their backs, but at least Mihawk had been gentle and her wings had gotten sturdier due to constantly wearing a jacket.  
\- "Do they hurt?" He caressed her wings gently as he returned to the bed.  
\- "No. Just a slight tingle. _You get to brush them tomorrow._ " She playfully slapped his cheek with her wing and he rubbed it smirking.

Mihawk laid on his back. He patted his chest and wearily Perona climbed into his embrace pressing her head on his chest. He took hold of her hand and kissed it. He laid it back on his chest, but kept holding onto it. Perona looked out as the moon got covered with clouds.

 _\- "Fitting."_ She mumured softly.  
\- "Hmm, what is?" Mihawk sounded drowsy.  
_\- "Nothing."_ She rubbed her face against his chest lovingly.

He hummed and slowly started drifting to sleep. She felt his hold loosen as he relaxed and gave him a small kiss before leaning back to his chest. Soon she too was deep asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kiddos this is not safe sex alrigth. You can still contract STD from it and on top of it, get pregnant. Please refer to actual pages on how to have safe sex and not my smutty fic.
> 
> Acherontia atropos used as wings for the Hawkeyed Fairy. 'Cos it's edgy.
> 
> If you've found the way I use coven and cove, just know I've noticed and don't give a damn. UvU


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The summer is over and she soon must go back.  
> Is he able to let her go?

Everywhere she looked at was soft yellow. Even the trees were starting to get ready for winter. It was still warm, but every once in a while a cold breeze would blow. Most of the caverns for winter would be dug and reinforced by now. She would have to work hard to have hers ready before sleep.

She and Mihawk were in the kitchen. They were making a list on what she would have as her winter rations. Different kind of nuts, dried berries, preserved meat. Something easy to eat when she would drowsily wake every once in a while from her deep slumber.

\- "Would you like something like a tiny mattress to take with you?" He asked as he was cutting meat for dinner.  
\- "Too big... I wonder if we could make a blanket filled with the soft under feathers chickens have."  
\- "We could try. Do you want animal fur to take with you?"  
\- "No I can probably use my old ones."  
\- "I hear mink is pretty soft." He started to cut onions while putting the meat aside.  
\- "You can't spoil me rotten like that. What if the others get envious?" She chastised him. "Besides I wouldn't be-" Perona stopped abruptly and pointed out the window.

Mihawk looked at what was so interesting and was pleasantly surprised.

Out on the old stone fence laid a cat enjoying the warm sun light. It was mostly white and on it's back was splotches of striped grey fur. The cat looked inside the window and the look on it's face could be described as a self-satisfied smirk.

Purema had returned just as he had promised.

Perona rushed outside to the cat. Courteously she stopped before it and smiled happily as he looked at her lazily yawning. He had grown so much since she had last seen him. He was slender and had non of the kittens roundness. His fur was also a bit longer and less fluffy.

\- "It's nice to have you back, Purema."  
The cat looked pleased and meowed back at her.  
\- "Yes I've learned common while you were gone, aren't I amazing?"  
Purema didn't look so impressed. He had known common all his life, silly fairy.

Mihawk walked outside after washing his hands. He knew cats didn't like the smell of onions. As he was reaching to pet Purema, the cat stretched and pushed against his hand. Mihawk looked extremely delighted and caressed his long fur. Purema started to purr and then he jumped onto Mihawks shoulder. After a bit of balancing he was comfortably perching on it. Mihawk looked like he might start to cry out of happiness.

\- "I guess he likes me better after all." Mihawk hummed happily as they went back inside.

Of course Perona and Purema knew better. She had specifically requested him to come and take care of Mihawk for her. She had promised that whenever he was at home Mihawk would shower the cat with love more than she or any other person could be capable off. Back then Purema had liked Peronas smell more than Mihawks and he still did, but a promise was a promise.

Inside Mihawk placed the cat on Peronas lap who still slightly tensed out of fear. She knew there was nothing to fear so after carefully petting Purema for awhile she relaxed and felt calm. It was like petting Kumashi. She wished that the mouse was fine at home and hadn't gotten into trouble. She was excited to see all the members of her coven once again.

As she petted Purema an idea grew in her. She reached into his mind once again. When done she happily turned to Mihawk.

\- "Hey Mihawk. I have an idea."

\-----

They had been to a trip to the town again. It had been just as nasty as the first time because now she had gone there as Mihawks servant and people weren't as courteous towards fairies.

They had gone to the blacksmith to get Night some new shoes and he was just as curious as the first time. This time he had given her a rough hug before he could be stopped. He didn't seem to notice her wings, but he kept on gushing over and over how nice her hair was and that she should be careful around the iron.

The tailor had raised her brow seeing her wear the jacket she had remembered making to a similar human girl. She was miffed when Mihawk handed her bag of chicken feathers and instructions with a tight schedule of two days. She got slightly annoyed at how highly he appreciated the opinion of a fairy over hers when choosing fabrics. Of course she was pleased to have a heavy bag of gold in her hand as a generous compensation.

On the market there was no fairy catching stalls since the season was over. They bought the food items from the stalls and Mihawk did end up buying her a minks pelt to do as she pleased with.

They hadn't taken the wagon that time so they walked near town. The dirty looks they would get if they had rode into town, her in his arms, didn't really appeal to either. But when they were far away enough he lifted her onto the horse and jumped on as well. They rode slowly and every once in awhile he kissed her.

\- "My beautiful fairy princess." He murmured.  
\- "Ah, a human prince. Suddenly I've fallen madly in love." She caressed his cheek.  
\- "I would be sad if you would turn to a human to be with me." He chuckled.  
\- "But then we could be together forever." She snorted.  
\- "I'd rather become a fairy myself."  
\- "Aren't you already, my ugly duckling?"  
\- "Cheeky." He nuzzled her.

\-----

Perona was reading the old diaries. Mihawk didn't really want to talk about the content anymore so she kept to herself. It felt important to her to somehow be able to understand what was going on inside the head of such notorious villain. He had been so in love with the girl that he had promised to show where all the other fairies were. He had felt no remorse since the mark on his back had made other fairies ostracize him. Perona could not understand why he had wanted to keep his wings even if in the long run it wasn't very good for him or his interactions with humans. Maybe he just didn't want to fake being something he wasn't. If Mihawk would ask her to give up her wings to live with him she would do it. She would loose so much, but it would be worth it. But it was easy for her to think like this, because Mihawk would never ask her.

The Hawkeyed Fairy seemed to also love his children and wife a great deal, even if he did awful things to them. Most of the writings were dedicated to the growth of his children and how he hated what he had robbed them of just because the influential grandparents demanded it. He never truly did fix his relationship with his family and soon after his grandchild's birth his son completely stopped interacting with him. The grandchildren were stronger than a basic human and their children were too, but still bore the skull mark, eyes and crude malformed wings.

The Hawkeyed Fairy lived long because of his wife's riches and the fact that he was allowed to have his winter rest. He had been happy to notice his children not needing it to survive, but was also lonely having to be alone the whole winter. And when he was old and felt he would not live long, he chose to go look at his old cove one last time. The diaries end there indicating that he did not make the trip back home.

Perona looked at the scribbles in fae. There were many symbols she had seen used by her coven, but didn't actually know their meaning since she had not been interested in them earlier. Only a small group in her coven knew something about them.

She put the diaries back into their box and hid them as Mihawk had shown her. She went to the bedroom where he was taking a nap. He had been to town to collect the items they had commissioned. Purema was there too next to Mihawk. Perona picked her silver brush from the desk and laid next to them and petted Purema a bit before turning her attention towards Mihawk. She traced the outlines of his beard and mustache. When he didn't wake of that she took the brush and brushed his hair. She kissed him on the forehead and then tickled under his nose with the brush. Mihawk sneezed and looked at her sleepily.

\- "Shirt off, _love._ "

He did as told and laid on his stomach as she started to brush the fluff on his back. After that night when he had finished brushing her wings she had forced him to have his back brushed as well. It wasn't anything useful, but he ended up liking the closeness of it and she wanted to do it, so he didn't mind.

She liked how the skull pattern became more clear and Mihawks back muscles twitched at the touch. She did wonder how his back would look, had the wings been left on Jonah so long ago. Would Mihawk too have full grown wings? Could he use magic? He was stronger and more durable than a normal human, but still sometimes she had had to be careful around him. Because those arms felt like twigs. Strong twigs, but still.

She caressed the nape of his neck to let him know she was done and they changed roles. As he gently with long strokes brushed her wings, she rubbed Purema, who was purring loudly enjoying the pamper.

\- "Mihawk."  
\- "Hmm?"  
\- "I love you."  
\- "I love you too."

\-----

Mihawk was kissing and touching Perona everywhere. Their last night together, he wanted to memorize every little detail of her body. They wouldn't go all the way, but right now this felt better than any kind of lustful intercourse. This was about love, caring and trust.

He took a hold of her leg and kissed her knee gently caressing her calf. He lifted her feet to kiss the top of it. His touch was ticklish and she giggled. Smirking he laid down the leg starting to kiss it from tip of her toe, up her shin, knee and thighs. He kissed and caressed her hip bones and she felt chills go down her spine and she went on goosebumps. His fingers brushed softly against her belly and he licked her navel. He counted her rib bones, following the bottom with his hands and she took a deep breath in as he did.

He lifted her arms over her head to have full access to her wings. He touched the silky creamy white of her wings. He traced the pure white circles around the black dots. He kissed every light brown triangle at the edge of her wings. Warmly he blew into her arm pit and she nearly hit him as she swung her arms back down. He chuckled and forced her arms up again as she giggled and fought back. Gently he kissed her arm pit keeping her arm up as she wiggled under his touch. And he kissed downwards following her chest muscle to her breast. He licked the rosy pink nipple before kissing it. He nibbled the underside of her breasts and she let out a soft moan relaxing to his touch.

While kissing her sternum Mihawk ran his hands against her arms. Her muscles were soft and skin a bit tanned where the sun could hit her. When he reached her hands he kissed her neck, nibbling on it and rubbed her palms with his thumbs. He loved the softness and roughness of them and then he felt through the shape of her hands and fingers. He pressed his hands against hers matching each finger with his. Thumb on thumb, index on index and so on. He moved up kissing her neck to her chin. Perona interlaced her fingers with his as he kissed her on the mouth. It was a slow and gentle kiss. She opened her eyes mid it just to meet his, so dark and wanting. And they kept on looking at each other breaking the kiss, starting a new one. She sighed into his lips and closed hers. Mihawk loosened his hold of her hands and licked her lips one last time begging to continue but she would not have it. It was her turn.

He laid next to her breathing deeply trying to calm down. His arousal in full length and throbbing with need. Perona was so beautiful and irresistible, it almost hurt him. He just wanted to grab it and be done with it to fully appreciate her kisses, but that would not do.

Perona was pleased that what they were doing was as arousing to him as it was to her and she softly roamed over to him giving him the same delicate and loving treatment as he had given her. He was more vocal than Perona, completely letting himself go into her caresses and kisses. And she was teasing and sensual. More slow than what he had been and when she was finally kissing him on the lips the same way he had kissed her, the closeness of it, the love, attraction and warmth, it all overwhelmed him. He came on his abdomen, softly whimpering into her lips.

Perona laughed pleased, but stopped herself when she saw him start to cry. His lips formed a silent apology as he covered his face with his hand, not wanting her to see him so weak.

_\- "Don't cry, my love."_

She gently whispered and caressed his cheek. She slowly brushed his hand away. His eyes were red and he sniffled. She kissed him gently and his lip trembled. He could not stop his tears and wrapped his arms around her into a desperate embrace. Tenderly she caressed him as he shuddered and sobbed.

_\- "Please don't go."_ He pleaded tightening his hold of her. _"You can stay the winter here. We can make this bedroom what you want or you can sleep by the apple trees. Please."_

She kissed his hair and ear waiting for him to calm down. Soon he stopped crying, but kept his hold on her.

_\- "This doesn't have to be the end."_ She whispered calmly. _"I can come back in spring."_

He was silent against her shoulder.

_\- "I'll come back and take all that hurt and loneliness you've felt during winter. I'll squeeze it into a ball and swallow it whole. In me it'll turn into love and warmth and I'll give it back to you so that when the next winter comes you'll not be lonesome again."_

Mihawk laughed. It was bitter sweet and warm. He let his hold drop and Perona started to kiss him again. It was hard because he could not stop laughing. And he laughed until his laughter turned to tears again and she kissed him until she could only taste the salt of her own heavy drops. Both of them looked ugly, red, snotty and vulnerable and still they felt that the person they were looking at was the most beautiful being on the whole world.

\- "You will?" He caressed her cheek his tears finally diminishing.  
\- "Of course I will, idiot." She grinned and kissed him once more.

\-----

They rode slowly. At times it felt like Night was giving them a dirty look for making him go slow. But they could not go any faster. Purema was walking alongside them looking very nonchalant, his tail was high and his fur bounced with each step.

Perona was on Mihawks lap. She was wearing her red jacket and a matching red dress. She leaned to his chest kissing his chin whispering sweet nothings to his ear, promises of a short winter and a warm spring. He was wearing his full armour and had his black heavy sword with him. He kept his eye on the road, but at times he looked down at her with so much sorrow, a lump would rise in her throat. At those moments she would whisper his name, say that spring was closer than he thought and kiss him, but he kept silent and looked back at the road.

The midday sun shone coldly and Perona shivered. Gently Mihawk rubbed her shoulder and squeezed her against his chest. The wheat would be reaped soon and Mihawk would have to attend to his duties he had not done to spend more time with her. And way too soon they were at the forest edge. They rode as deep as they could in it until it was too thick for Night to carry them with him. They unloaded him taking two small saddle bags, filled with blankets and food, more than she needed, but barely enough for the whole coven to share. Carefully Mihawk secured the bags onto Purema, who would carry them on his back as he was nimble enough to pass all the traps fairies had set up. Slowly Mihawk carried Perona in his arms until the forest shrub was too thick and hard for him to maneuver. He set her down and she clung to his neck embracing him. She swallowed her tears back. They would see each other again.

Mihawk held her tightly kissing the top of her head. He took a deep breath filling his nose with her sweet scent. Their embrace felt to last an eternity until finally she slid her hands to his chest and pushed him slightly away. She placed one sweet kiss on his lips, savoring the moment as he kissed her back. She smiled sadly as they separated. He could not bring himself to do the same.

She gave him her jacket and he marveled at her wings carefully caressing them, then her hair and cheek and she leaned into his hand closing her eyes. He didn't want to let go so she took his hand and kissed it before gently letting it down and slip out of her grasp. Mihawk looked at her bitter, but she kept her small smile, sad maybe, but still a promise of brighter tomorrow. Perona started to morph to a smaller size and as her clothes become loose on her Mihawk took hold of them not to have them drop on the ground. When she was barely the size of a mouse, she fluttered near and kissed his cheek. She then flew to Purema who had walked a bit forward and was waiting for her anxiously whipping his tail. She waved her hand and Mihawk lifted his. He looked on until he could not see the blue of Peronas wings, until he could not catch a glimpse of Puremas tail in the midst of the bushes. Even after that he looked on, hoping she would return.

When the sun was starting to turn everything orange he finally stopped looking.

\-----

Mihawk was riding slowly back home. He did not want to go back to the empty house, to see her brush on the table or her dresses neatly stored into a dresser. The novel that she had not had time to finish. The orchard she so lovingly cared. All the things that would remind him of her.

No.

He wanted her back.

Mihawk slouched on the saddle lost in the thought of her. Then something white caught the corner of his eye. Her wings! He pulled his horse to a hault and looked around. Purema meowed cheerily at him, but Perona was not there with with him. He was still wearing the saddlebags and they had clearly been emptied. Mihawk sighed, but felt relief knowing that she had made it safely home. What a sight it must have been, her riding on a feared beast bringing presents with her. Her showing the mink fur, telling of her time in the human world. Maybe she would tell them about him, the descendant of the Hawkeyed Fairy trying to make things right.

Yes.

He still had a war to win. For her sake and the people she loved. For Zoro. For himself. He had the whole winter for this fight.

Mihawk looked at Purema who was looking at him expectantly. Mihawk tapped his leg and the cat bounced up, climbing onto his lap. He caressed the soft fur on Puremas head and chuckled. He might get lonely, but spring would come before he had the time to miss her. He encouraged Night and smiled as the horse galloped as fast as it could.

Spring would come and bring her with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got real sad and Mihi is such a drama queen. Who stands in the forest for hours. Jeez.
> 
> Thanks everyone for reading. Epilogue is just a happy ending for this story because I need one. 100% just happy fluff for myself and for any reader who also needs a happy ending.
> 
> Butterfly in the epilogue is Catocala fraxini.


	5. Epilogue

A girl and her father walked on a road. The gravel skipped with each step and the sand would create little dust clouds. She ran a bit forward and fluttered her wings. The top was the same grey as the road, but hidden under was near black wings with blue stripe in the middle and white rims. He held to reins of a bay horse, that followed them while munching on dry hay. On the road was a red stone that she picked up showing it to him.

Yes, it's a nice stone. Oh, you're going to kick it now?

She started to sing a made up song as she kicked the stone forward. He tried to join in, but she would look at him angrily when he did. Soon she lost interest to her stone and started picking small yellow spring flowers while still continuing to sing. They weren't in a rush after all.

A farmer was herding his cows to the next patch. He looked at the wings on the girls back and then at the man with her. He would have shaken his head in disapproval, or maybe even thrown a nasty comment, but he knew not to anger the lord in dark armour with a black sword on his hip. The girl looked at the cows and politely asked if she could pet them. Surprised by her good manners and intimidated by the piercing eyes of the man, the farmer bend. Carefully the girl set her bouquet aside, took some grass and let one of the cows have it. She petted the cows head as it ate. As the farmer looked at the girl gently petting his cow, he started to think that she actually was sort of cute and not disgusting at all.

They let the farmer continue on his way and the girl waved her hand as a good bye in which the farmer shyly waved back. She picked up her flowers and went by her father who had kept an eye on the whole exchange. She skipped and fluttered her wings and the man picked her up.

Are you tired? Aha, just lazy.

By the forest edge he let her down to tie their horse. She skipped around like a frog from one interesting thing to the other. The man walked past her holding a garment in his arm and she followed him taking hold of his hand. The forest floor crunched under foot. The birds were singing loudly trying to find their perfect mate. She asked which bird was singing, but he could not say, there were so many. They walked onward in the thicket, dead leaves, dry grass and branches crunching under each step. He looked at the girl as she had been silent for a while. She looked slightly worried by something. He held the soft small hand in his and squeezed it.

He was happy. Wasn't she happy as well?

Small squeal escaped her lips and she squeezed him back.

Yes, she was happy, but worried.

Then she showed him her flowers, that had started to droop in her warm grasp. He chuckled and the girl was slightly offended.

Do not worry, she'll like them.

And there in the thickets was a mother with wings blue from the inside and ghostly white outside. A bit slouched she sat on a tree stump waiting, boredom etched on her face. On her lap was a cat lazily being petted by her that stirred when it noticed the man and girl. She turned to look at them and smiled brighter than the spring sun.

They had come to take her back home.


End file.
